Our eye is similar to a camera. Like a camera, here we have a crystalline lens inside our eye which act almost similar to the lens present in cameras we use to capture photos. When the natural lens becomes cloudy it is called a cataract. it is the most common cause of reversible blindness, which means with surgery patient can get rid of the blindness.

Vision problems/ symptoms

•         (i)  Blurriness
•        (ii)  Hazy
•       (iii)  Foggy
•       (iv)  Dusty
•       (v)  Sensitive to light

Cause of cataract

Ageing is the most common cause of Cataracts.  But it is not the only cause. Surgeons at Foresight Eye Clinic have seen and operated on babies less than 2 months of age who also present with cataracts.

Other causes include, diabetes, smoking, eye injury, any other systemic diseases, systemic steroids etc are few other causes

Can we stop cataracts from being developed?

No. It can’t be stopped. Like our hair turns white, cataracts are bound to happen. There are many fraudulent drops available in the market which claims to stop developing cataract. Please stay away from such drops, some of which may have steroids and instead of benefits, you might harm your eyes.

Cataract diagnosis

Done by ophthalmologists on slit lamp examination

Treatment of cataract surgery

There are many different types of surgery for the removal of cataracts. The most advanced is phacoemulsification. Phacoemulsification is a type of cataract surgery in which the opaque lens is removed with help of a phaco machine. Our crystalline lens is inside a bag. Surgery consists of making an opening in the accessible part of the lens (anteriorly) which is known as anterior continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis. Once that opening is made, with the help of a phaco machine based on the principle of ultrasound energy, it breaks the lens into smaller fragments which are then aspirated. After the removal of lens matter from the bag, the bag remains empty. We implant an artificial lens inside the eye in the bag. And surgery is completed.

Phacoemulsification is painless, stitchless extremely advanced microscopic surgery. Most of the time it requires only topical anaesthesia in form of drops. In old times, patients used to be given anaesthesia around the eyeballs. But with phacoemulsification, the fear of injection can be avoided.

The cut in the eye (incision) for phaco surgery varies from 2.2 to 2.8 mm (less than the size of a rice grain)  The surgery is possible, with such a small cut in the eye because of technological; advancements in phacoemulsification machines and intraocular foldable lenses.

Regarding lens (IOL- intraocular lens)

There are a wide variety of lenses available in market

It’s classified into monofocal lens (for distance vision), multifocal (for both distance and near vision), and trifocal (for near, distance and intermediate vision). There are toric lenses (patients having astigmatism or cylindrical power in the eye) available in all these categories ( monofocal toric, multifocal toric, trifocal toric).

All these lenses are available in Imported and Indian-made versions by various companies.

Contact your doctor at Foresight Eye Clinic for the best lens suited for your eye according to your affordability.