Is Your Child Having Sight Problems?

Posted on: 20 July 2022

An eye cataract occurs when the proteins contained in the eye lens break down and clump together inside the eye lens. As a result, the eye lens becomes cloudy and loses its transparency, thus preventing enough light from reaching the retina. 

Common symptoms of eye cataracts include:

• Blurry or cloudy vision
• Sensitivity to light
• Colors appear faded

At the moment, the only proven treatment for eye cataracts involves surgery. There are no non-invasive or natural cures for eye cataracts. If you are looking for eye cataract services, you have three surgical options. 

1. Phacoemulsification (Phaco) Surgery

Phacoemulsification is the most common type of eye cataract surgery used by ophthalmologists. 

Before the surgery, an ophthalmologist first introduces a local anesthetic to the eye to numb the pain. They also place a few droplets of antibiotics on the eye to prevent an infection. Afterward, the ophthalmologist makes a small incision on the side of the cornea to access the lens.

The ophthalmologist then inserts a small ultrasonic device into the eye through the small incision. The ultrasonic device emits ultrasonic waves at a predetermined frequency to soften and break up the eye lens. Once the eye lens softens up, the ophthalmologist carefully removes it using suction.

After removing the eye lens, the ophthalmologist inserts an artificial eye lens through the same incision. In most cases, they will not have to stitch back the wound caused by the incision. But if stitching is necessary, the ophthalmologist will usually use a single stitch to close the incision opening. 

2. Extracapsular Surgery 

Extracapsular surgery is like phacoemulsification surgery. But in this case, the ophthalmologist makes a larger incision. 

However, during extracapsular surgery, the ophthalmologist only removes the eye lens's nucleus (center part). As a result, the back half of the lens's outer covering remains intact. They insert an artificial lens and stitch up the incision wound. 

Extracapsular surgeries are more complex than phacoemulsification surgeries. Hence, they are not commonly used for eye cataract removal these days. 

3. Intracapsular Surgery

While phacoemulsification and extracapsular surgeries only remove the eye lens, intracapsular surgery involves removing the lens and its capsule (casing). Though this procedure is not standard, ophthalmologists recommend it for patients with more advanced eye cataracts. 

The procedure remains the same as the other surgeries except for a much larger incision. 

Note: In all three surgeries, ophthalmologists can use intraocular lenses (IOL) to correct a patient's vision. The four most common intraocular lenses include:

• Standard IOLs designed to correct your vision to a single focal length
• Premium IOLs that have more features than standard IOLs
• Presbyopia- correcting IOLs that correct hyperopia and myopia
• Toric intraocular lenses designed to correct astigmatism 

If you have any of the above eye conditions plus cataracts, it is advisable to inform your ophthalmologist in advance. The ophthalmologist will insert the appropriate lens after removing the eye cataract.

Contact a company like Sabates Eye Centers to learn more.