By Dr. Anisha A. Jangi
June was National Cataract Awareness Month, which brings to mind the question: How much does the average person really know about cataracts? Probably not as much as they should. So, here’s a brief overview of what exactly cataracts are, how they affect vision, and what can be done to remedy them.
What Is A Cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens caused by a buildup of protein, which can block light from reaching the retina. The retina is the eye’s light-sensitive layer that sends visual signals to the brain. When less light reaches the retina, vision becomes dull and blurry.
Types of Cataracts
Age-Related Cataract: Age is a primary contributor to cataracts. More than half of all Americans age 65 and older develop cataracts. Other risk factors include diabetes, smoking and steroid use.
Congenital Cataract: Some babies are born with cataracts or develop them in childhood, often in both eyes. These cataracts may not affect vision.
Traumatic Cataract: Cataracts can develop after an eye injury—either immediately
or years after.
What Are the Symptoms?
The most common symptoms of a cataract are:
- Cloudy or blurry vision
- Headlights seem too bright at night
- Glare from lamps or very bright sunlight
- Halos appear around lights
- Colors seem faded
- Poor night vision
- Frequent changes in your eyeglasses/contact lens prescription
Cataracts tend to grow slowly, so vision worsens gradually. Some people don’t realize how bad their vision has become until the cataract is removed and they can see clearly once again.
How Is a Cataract Detected?
A cataract is detected during a comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
How Is It Treated?
For an early cataract, vision may improve by using different eyeglasses, magnifying lenses, or stronger lighting. If these measures don’t help, surgery is the only effective treatment. Cataract surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens implant.
A cataract needs to be removed only when vision loss and visual symptoms interfere with your everyday activities, such as driving, reading, or watching TV. You and your ophthalmologist can make that decision together. If you have cataracts in both eyes, the doctor will not remove them both at the same time. You will need to have each done separately.
Even when it is not affecting vision, a cataract should be removed if it prevents examination or treatment of another eye problem, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy.
How Is a Cataract Removed?
Cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed in the U.S. today. It is also one of the safest and most effective.
Phacoemulsification (Phaco): Your doctor makes a small incision on the side of the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. The doctor then inserts a tiny probe into the eye. This device emits ultrasound waves that soften and break up the cloudy center of the lens so it can be removed by suction. The new lens implant is then inserted. Most cataract surgery today is done by phaco, which is also called small incision cataract surgery.
The above procedure can be performed via two methods and is typically performed in an outpatient surgical setting:
Manual Surgery: Measurements of your eye are taken with traditional tools before surgery to plan the procedure. The incision is made with a blade.
Femtosecond Laser Surgery: Measurements are taken with
3-D tomography, which is used to precisely guide laser incisions. The laser is also used to precut the lens into tiny segments before phacoemulsification.
To schedule a consultation with one of our cataract surgeons, please call Connecticut Eye Consultants, P.C. at (203) 791-2020.
