Removal of cataracts is crucial to prevent severe loss of vision and the debilitating effects that this common condition can cause.
What Are Cataracts?
A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, the clear part of the eye that helps focus light on the retina, and is most often a result of aging. Cataracts usually develop slowly and may go unnoticed until perceptible vision impairment occurs. Cataracts can eventually make daily activities like reading or driving (especially at night) difficult or impossible. Looking through a cataract can be like looking through a foggy window or a piece of wax paper.
As we age, the proteins in the crystalline lens of the eye will clump together eventually causing the lens to become hard and cloudy. This is known as a cataract and is what makes the patient’s vision hazy and blurry. A cataract can affect your entire field of vision and make day-to-day functions such as reading and driving difficult or even impossible. The only way to improve and restore your vision is to remove the cataract.
What is the Cause of Cataracts?
Everyone at some point will develop cataracts as they age. Age-related cataracts may develop during the middle age years, but typically they only begin to affect vision after age 60.
Cataracts are also caused by health conditions like diabetes, eye injuries, prolonged use of steroid medications, UV ray exposure, and tobacco use.
Symptoms of cataracts include images becoming blurred, vision becoming cloudy, bright colors becoming dull, glare or halos appearing around lights, and seeing at night becoming more difficult. It may also be the reason your glasses do not seem to help keep things in focus as well as they used to. As a cataract begins to develop over time, people tend to accept and adjust to the decline in their lifestyles.
Treatments for Cataracts
Cataract surgery is needed when a patient has cloudy or blurred vision to the point where the patient cannot see while driving or interferes with normal daily tasks. The main symptoms of cataracts are difficult to read and driving becomes an issue. If any of these symptoms become present then it is time for the patient to come in for a comprehensive eye exam within any of our four convenient locations.
Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the United States, with millions performed each year. Thanks to advances in technology, cataract surgery is now an outpatient procedure, with minimal discomfort and amazing results. With the use of premium IOLs, you may not even need glasses following your procedure.
Benefits of Laser Cataract Surgery
Wellish Vision Institute in Las Vegas offers its patients the latest advancements in cataract surgery. Laser cataract surgery or laser-assisted cataract surgery is the most modern approach to performing cataract removal. This breakthrough in technology can help make cataract surgery more precise, more predictable, and better than ever before. During laser cataract surgery, the surgeons of the Wellish Vision Institute utilize this laser technology to perform many of the necessary steps with incredible precision and safety.
While traditional cataract surgery using a manual blade is very safe, no human hand can match the precision of a laser. This is very important for patients seeking optimal visual results, especially with premium IOLs, which can help reduce or eliminate reading glasses or bifocals.
Another major benefit of Laser Cataract Surgery is astigmatism correction. For patients that have low to mild corneal astigmatism, this technology would be ideal for creating limbal relaxing incisions (LRIs) that can help create a more round cornea, vs. a football-shaped cornea. This reduces or eliminates the need for glasses to see well in the distance. For patients that have larger amounts of corneal astigmatism, a Toric or Multifocal Toric might be a better option.
- A highly customized procedure using advanced 3D imaging
- A treatment with little or no discomfort
- A more precise treatment
- A gentler and easier cataract removal
- Generally, a more rapid visual recovery due to reduced inflammation
Frequently Asked Cataract Questions
Can a cataract develop again after you have surgery?
Since the lens is removed and replaced with an artificial one, you can never develop a cataract again in an eye that has had cataract surgery.
Will I still need glasses after cataract surgery?
A: During cataract surgery, an artificial lens, called an IOL (intraocular lens), is implanted to replace the old clouded lens. A traditional lens is a single-focus lens that allows patients good distance vision but will require them to wear reading glasses for near vision. At Wellish Vision Institute, we also offer our patients the option to use premium IOLs. These amazing lenses can offer good vision at all distances and can reduce or even eliminate the need for glasses following cataract surgery.
Do cataracts only affect older people?
Most cataracts are age-related, but cataracts can develop for a number of other reasons. Trauma or past eye surgery, medical conditions such as diabetes, and long-term use of steroid medications can lead to the development of cataracts. Some cataracts are related to inherited genetic disorders, and congenital cataracts can affect children and even newborn babies.
