We often hear older adults say that they underwent cataract surgery. But have you ever wondered what a cataract is and how it gets cured by the operational procedure? Don’t worry if you aren’t aware of these details. We will help you understand everything from the definition of this problem to the cataract surgery cost. Therefore, you won’t remain uninformed of anything before opting for the surgical procedure.
What Is Cataract?
As you age, your eyes form a cloud in front of their lenses. This clouding is known as the cataract. It blocks your lenses and doesn’t let you see correctly. In some cases, a cataract can even cause complete blindness. What makes the situation further worse is the fact that this problem can’t get cured by glasses, lenses, or procedures like LASIK. While the issue may sound frightening, it is quite common in older people. Plus, modern-day advancements have made it possible now to treat the cataract and make your eyes normal again.
Now that you have understood what a cataract is, let’s move on to its treatment.
Cataract Surgery
The currently practiced cataract surgery isn’t only efficient but also safe. That is why millions of people opt for this procedure every year to cure their cataract problem. Under this surgery, the experts remove the cloudy lens from your eye. They then replace it with an artificial lens. As there is no cloud on this new lens, you are able to see clearly after the operation. Further, your glass-dependency gets reduced to some extent.
In order to remove the cloudy lens, professionals opt for a high-frequency ultrasound device. It doesn’t directly drag out the lens. Instead, it only breaks the lens into tiny pieces. The doctor then removes these pieces from your eye with the help of suction. You may also hear people call this procedure phacoemulsification or simply phaco.
The exact procedure followed by doctors is:
- Makes corneal incisions to access the eye lens
- Then eliminates the lens’s anterior capsule through the incisions
- Breaks the cataract
- Removes it
And the work gets done. The procedure here is quick, painless, and hassle-free to a remarkable degree.
Risk-Levels Of Cataract Surgery
As stated earlier, these modern-day procedures are much safe as compared to conventional cataract surgery. The risk has significantly reduced due to the reduction in incision levels. The phaco method mentioned above uses minimal incision. Therefore, complication risks diminish. This factor also makes healing and recovery more convenient after surgery.
However, these procedures do cost a little more as the technology used here is costlier than the previously used tools.
Preparing For Cataract Surgery
Even though cataract surgery is trouble-free, it is crucial for the doctor to properly analyze the patient’s eye before beginning the process. It helps them know the exact condition of the lens and any other possible problems in the eye. As per these reports, the professionals take appropriate precautions during surgery to avoid any complications. They may also change their lens selection based on your post-surgery glass dependency preferences.
Recovering From Cataract Surgery
Recovering from surgery is a completely straightforward procedure. Your doctor will provide you with a few precautions like not splashing water on your eyes, not lifting heavy weights, etc. You just need to follow these and go with any medication that they offer.
Conclusion
We hope all these details helped you learn about cataract surgery. In case you any confusion or doubts, you can directly ask your doctor. As every case is different, they will be able to guide you better here.
