Stay up to date on all things vision. Sign up and we’ll send you the latest news, resources, scientific breakthroughs, events, tips, and much more.
The recovery from cataract surgery is usually pretty quick. Patients may feel a little soreness or grittiness. The eyes may look a little red and patients may see things like halos around lights and certain other types of distortions, but within a few days to a few weeks, the eyes typically return to normal.
The recovery from cataract surgery is usually pretty quick. Patients may feel a little soreness or grittiness. The eyes may look a little red and patients may see things like halos around lights and certain other types of distortions, but within a few days to a few weeks, the eyes typically return to normal.
Cataracts are treated by cataract surgery and what that is is a lens exchange, so we're taking the cloudy lens out of the eye and putting in a clear lens implant in its place. It sounds really involved (and it technically is) but it's a quick procedure. Within 10-15 minutes, patients can undergo cataract surgery. It's done as an outpatient, usually using just eyedrop anesthesia. The patient doesn't feel any pain and although it is kind of scary to think about, the recovery is really fast and most patients will notice an improvement in their vision within a few days. There are risks of cataract surgery like any procedure, so despite the full intention and expectation of a good outcome, obviously things can happen. It's important for patients to have a thorough discussion with their ophthalmologist prior to proceeding so they can understand if there are any special circumstances relating to their case.
Cataract surgery is done on an outpatient basis using just eyedrop anesthesia. The procedure (usually taking about 10 minutes or so) involves taking the natural lens out of the eye and putting in a clear plastic lens in its place. The patient isn't in any pain during the procedure. They're alert, but they're relaxed. There's an anesthesiologist there that gives the patient some relaxing medicine through an I.V. The recovery is usually quite quick too, so that within a few days, most patients are noticing a nice improvement in their eyesight. Now, there are risks. Any surgery does carry the possibility of problems occurring, so despite the full intention and expectation of the ophthalmologist of a good outcome, obviously problems can occur. It's important for patients to have a thorough discussion with their ophthalmologist prior to proceeding so they can understand if there's any special circumstances relating to their case.
The starting point to treating cataracts is to get your eyes examined. Now there's no diet, exercise or eyedrops to take that are going to make a cataract go away. Ultimately, once the symptoms become significant enough, the treatment is a surgical one and it involves taking the cataract out and putting a lens implant (that's clear) in place of that natural cloudy lens.
Because most cataracts develop simply because of age, it's very common for patients to come in with cataracts in both eyes. They often ask if we do the procedure on both eyes the same day like we do with LASIK surgery, for example, but with cataract surgery we usually do one eye in one day and the other eye a week or two later. People also wonder if their cataracts can grow back and the answer is: no. Cataracts themselves do not grow back. However, behind the lens implant, patients can develop a cloudy membrane that forms and that can happen anywhere from 3 months to 30 years after their cataract surgery. It may seem to the patient like they're getting their cataract back, but that's really not what's happening. That membrane can be treated with an in-office laser procedure which is really easy for the patient to go through and the visual recovery is rather quick.
Send this to a friend