Cataracts and the New Technology
Cataracts and the New Technology
Do I have cataracts? Why is my vision yellow and cloudy? What can be done about my blurred vision? These are questions our patients ask us daily regarding their vision. Cataracts are a natural occurrence in life. Almost everyone will someday develop vision impairment due to cataracts. It's what you do about them that matters most, because cataract surgery and implant technology have undergone numerous improvements in recent years.
Cataracts are the leading cause of poor vision in adults, and can occur at any age. They may be present at birth or may develop as a result of injury, disease, diabetes or the normal aging of the eye. Age related cataracts may take months or years to develop.
A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye that is located behind the pupil. The clouding blocks the passage of light into the eye. As a result, the retina receives a blurred image, which it transfers to the vision center of the brain. Some symptoms of cataracts are: difficulty driving at night, halos or glare around headlights, double vision, frequent changes in glasses prescription, and difficulty reading small print. A cataract can be diagnosed during a routine dilated eye exam. It can not be treated with drops, medications, vitamins or a change in your diet.
Cataract surgery is performed on an outpatient basis and only takes a few minutes to perform. At the Temas Eye Center, we pioneered a virtually painless procedure called Clear Cornea cataract surgery. The benefits of this type of surgery are: no injections (we use anesthetic drops to numb the eye), no stitches (because the incision is less than 1/8 inch and is self-sealing), no eye patch blocking your vision, and a fast recovery. Most people return to normal daily activities the next day. This advancement in cataract surgery has reduced the complication rate from 50% in the 1980s to less than 1% today. The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons reports that 98% of cataract patients have improved vision after cataract surgery.
Along with improved cataract surgery, we now have even better lens implant options. The newest lens implants are called Multifocals . This type of implant allows you to have a full range of vision. With a standard lens implant you still need bifocals to see after cataract surgery, but Multifocal limplants give you distance, intermediate and near vision. This implant is available to patients, no matter what age. There are tfourdifferent types of Multifocal implants the ReZoom, ReSTOR, Technis and Crystalens. The doctors at Temas Eye Center are the only ones in the greater Triad area certified to implant all four types of lenses. Multifocal implants are becoming very popular because they give patients more youthful vision. They are even helping patients with mild Macular Degeneration see better.
In order to determine if cataract surgery with multifocal implants are right for you, we recommend first having a thorough dilated eye exam. The doctors can then counsel you regarding what procedure will be best for your lifestyle. You can learn more about cataract surgery, multifocal implants, refractive and plastic surgery procedures by calling Temas Eye Center at 33-659-8180, or by visiting our website www.temaseye.com