Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery is performed as a part of cataract treatment. Cataract refers to the clouding of the normally clear eye lens. For a cataract patient, seeing through cloudy lenses is like looking through a fogged-up or frosty window. Cataracts cause clouded vision, making it challenging for the person to read, drive a car, or perceive the experience on an acquaintance’s face. Most cataracts develop slowly and don’t interfere with eyesight early on. However, with time, cataracts will eventually interfere with the vision.

In the beginning, eyeglasses and stronger lighting can help deal with cataracts. However, if the impaired vision interferes with your daily activities, you might require cataract surgery. Cataract surgery is fortunately a safe and effective procedure. Cataracts can increase the glare from lights and cause blurry vision. If a cataract makes it challenging for you to perform daily activities, your healthcare provider may suggest cataract surgery.

When cataract interferes with the treatment of another ophthalmologic concern, cataract surgery may be recommended. For example, healthcare providers may recommend cataract surgery if a cataract makes it challenging for your ophthalmologist to examine the back muscles of the eye so that other eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration may be treated.

In most cases, cataract surgery can be delayed as waiting to get cataract surgery won’t harm your eye, so that you have time to consider your options. If your vision is still good, you may not require cataract surgery for years.

Things to consider when considering cataract surgery

When considering cataract surgery, following are the questions that you must keep in mind:

• Do you have problems watching television or reading?
• Can you drive and do your job safely?
• Is it difficult to shop, cook, climb stairs, perform yard work, or take medications?
• Is your level of independence affected by vision problems?
• Do bright lights make it more challenging to see?

Food and medications

You may be asked not to drink or anything twelve hours before cataract surgery. Your healthcare provider may also advise you to stop taking medications temporarily as it could increase your risk of bleeding during the procedure. You must let your healthcare provider know if you take any medications for prostate disorders, as some of these medications may interfere with cataract surgery. Antibiotic eye drops may be given for a few days before surgery.

Other precautions

You would normally be allowed to go home on the same day of the surgery, however, you won’t be able to drive, you make sure to arrange a ride home. If necessary, also arrange for help around home because your healthcare provider may limit activities like lifting and bending for around a week after the surgery.

Before the procedure

Around a week prior to the surgery, your healthcare provider will perform an ultrasound test to measure the shape and size of your eye. This helps them determine the type of lens implant that is most suitable for you. Almost everyone with cataract surgery is given an intraocular lens. These lenses lead to an improvement of your vision by focusing light on the back of your eye. You will not be able to feel the lens or see it. It eventually becomes a permanent part of your eye and requires no care.

A wide range of intraocular lenses with different features are available. Prior to the surgery, you and your ophthalmologist will discuss which type of intraocular lens is most suitable for you and your lifestyle. Intraocular lenses are made up of acrylic, plastic, or silicone. Some intraocular lenses cause blockage of ultraviolet light. Others are rigid plastic and are implanted via an incision requiring several sutures to close.

Many intraocular lenses are, however, flexible and allow a smaller incision requiring few or no stitches. This type of lens is folded by the surgeon and then inserted into the empty capsule where the natural lens used to be. Once it is placed in the eye, the folded intraocular lens unfolds and fills up the empty capsule.

Types of lenses

Following are some types of lenses that are currently available:

• Fixed-focus monofocal lens
  This is the type of lens that has a single focus strength for distant vision. Reading generally requires the use of reading glasses.
• Accommodating-focus monofocal lens
  Although this type of lens has a single focusing strength, it can respond to the movements of the eye muscles and shift focus to distant or near objects.
• Multifocal lens
  This type of lens is similar to glasses with progressive or bifocal lenses. Different lens areas have different focusing strengths that allow for far, medium, and near vision.
• Astigmatism correction (toric) lens
  A toric lens will help correct your vision if you have significant astigmatism.

You can discuss the advantages and risks of different types of intraocular lenses with your ophthalmologist to determine which one is the most suitable option for you. Consult the best eye surgeons in Indore for further assistance.

During the procedure

Cataract surgery takes an hour or less to perform and it is usually an outpatient procedure. Your healthcare provider will first place eyedrops in your eye so that your pupils are dilated. You will then be given local anaesthetics to numb the area, and you will be given a sedative so that you can relax.

During the procedure, the clouded lens is removed and an artificial, clear lens is usually implanted in its place. However, in some cases, a cataract may be removed without implantation of an artificial lens.

Following are the surgical methods that are used to remove cataracts:

• Phacoemulsification
  It is a procedure during which an ultrasound probe is used to break up the lens so that it can be removed. The surgeon makes a small incision in front of the eye and introduces a very thin probe into the substance of the lens where the cataract has developed.
  
  Then, the surgeon uses the probe to break up the cataract and take out the fragments by using suction pressure. The back of the lens remains intact so that it serves as a place for the artificial lens to rest. The tiny incision may be closed by using stitches at the completion of the procedure.
• Extracapsular cataract extraction
  It is a less frequently used procedure during which an incision is made in the eye and the lens is removed in one piece. It requires a larger incision than that needed for phacoemulsification. The surgeon employs certain surgical techniques and uses specialised instruments to remove the front capsule of the lens and the cloudy lens with the cataract through this larger incision. The back of the lens is left undisturbed so that it serves as a place for the artificial lens to rest.

Once the cataract has been removed either by extracapsular extraction or phacoemulsification, an artificial lens is introduced into the empty lens capsule.

After the procedure

After cataract surgery is completed, you can expect your vision to start improving within a few days. At first, your vision may be blurry. This is because your eye heals and adjusts. After the surgery, colours may seem brighter because you are looking through a new, clear lens. Before surgery, the cataract-affected lens is usually brown-tinted or yellow-tinted, muting the look of colours. You will usually see your ophthalmologist a few days after the surgery, the week after, and then again after about a month so that healing is monitored. Feeling a sensation of itching and mild discomfort for a few days post-surgery is normal. You should avoid rubbing or pushing on the eye after the surgery.

Your healthcare provider may suggest you wear a protective shield or eye patch on the day of the surgery. He might also recommend you to wear the eye patch for a few days post-surgery and the protective shield while sleeping during the recovery period. Apart from that, he may prescribe some medications and eye drops to reduce inflammation, prevent infection, promote healing, and control eye movements. These medications are sometimes injected into the eye at the time of the surgery. Most of the discomfort disappears after a couple of days and often complete healing occurs within a few weeks.

You must talk to your healthcare provider immediately if you experience any symptoms like vision loss, increased eye redness, persisting pain despite the use of over-the-counter pain medications, eyelid swelling, light flashes and floaters in front of the eye, and eyelid swelling. Most patients require sunglasses for some time after cataract surgery. Your healthcare provider will let you know when your eyes have healed enough for you to receive a final prescription for glasses. If both of your eyes have been affected by cataract, your healthcare provider will schedule the second surgery after the healing of the first eye.

Results

Cataract surgery helps to successfully restore vision in most patients who undergo the procedure. Those who have had cataract before are susceptible to developing it again. This is known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO). It occurs when the back of the lens capsule becomes cloudy, impairing vision.

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is treated with yttrium-aluminium-garnet (YAG) laser capsulotomy - a painless, five-minute outpatient procedure during which a laser beam is employed to make a small incision in the clouded capsule so that a clear path through which light can pass is made. After the procedure, you are required to stay in the hospital for a few hours to ensure that the eye pressure does not rise.

If you are looking for the best cataract treatment doctors in Indore, your search is over. The Department of Ophthalmology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Indore houses a team of highly qualified and experienced ophthalmologists who perform the safest cataract surgery. Equipped with state-of-the-art ophthalmological instruments, the team offers diagnostic and therapeutic care for a wide range of ophthalmological pathologies.

The Department of Ophthalmology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Indore offers primary eye care services, including ophthalmologic checkups and routine and emergency medical and surgical management of a vast range of eye conditions. Prescriptions for eyeglasses, annual eye exams, and referrals for fitting contact lenses are also offered. The department houses a team of immensely qualified ophthalmologists who have years of experience in the field and is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology and ophthalmologic instruments.

Consult the best ophthalmologists in Indore for comprehensive diagnostic services that include assessment of refractive errors, visual acuity, slit lamp evaluation, tonometry, ophthalmoscopy, gonioscopy, pachymetry, visual field testing, and fundus photography. The typical disorders diagnosed and treated in the department include contact-lens-related problems, blepharitis and dry eye, corneal ulcers, pterygium, herpes zoster and herpes simplex infections, allergic conjunctivitis, cataract, diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, refractive errors like myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism, and ocular trauma.