April 2022 - Armadale Eye Clinic

what happens during cataract surgery melbourne

What Happens During Cataract Surgery? Know What To Expect

April 30, 2022/0 Comments/in Cataract Surgery /by armadaleeye

When vision problems start to arise due to cataracts that can no longer be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, it may be time to consider cataract surgery. Despite cataract surgery being the most common eye procedure around the world, not everyone understands what happens during cataract surgery and what they can expect from this procedure.

The fear of the unknown can make you feel anxious and hesitant to proceed with a cataract operation, despite knowing that it will improve your sight. Keep reading to find out what happens during cataract surgery.

What Happens During Cataract Surgery: Steps of the Operation

Cataract surgery is usually a quick, painless, uncomplicated procedure. There are a few factors that can increase your risk of complications, but your ophthalmologist will be sure to discuss these with you ahead of time, including what you might be able to do to reduce your risk.

Modern cataract surgery falls into two techniques – phacoemulsification or femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS). Regardless of which method your ophthalmologist prefers to use in your circumstances, you will have your eye dilated and numbed. The dilation is done with pharmaceutical eye drops that will widen the pupil, allowing the surgeon to access the cloudy lens behind it. In some cases, the eye drops will not be sufficient to widen the pupil enough, so the surgeon may need to use other interventions, such as pupil dilating instruments. The numbing of your eye is achieved with either topical anaesthetic eyedrops or with a local nerve block injection.

Once you’ve been made comfortable on the operating table, you’ll be asked to fixate on a target overhead. This will help to keep your eye steady as the surgeon works.

A small incision will be made at the edge of your cornea. If your surgeon is using conventional phacoemulsification, this will be performed with a handheld bladed instrument; if you’re undergoing a femtosecond laser-assisted operation, it will be using the femtosecond laser.

The next step is to open the membranous capsule that holds your cloudy lens and the cataract. This is performed with either another manual tool or the femtosecond laser, depending on which technique of cataract surgery your surgeon is using.

From here, the cataract needs to be fragmented into pieces small enough to be suctioned out from the eye. The phacoemulsification technique gets its name from this step, as the term describes the use of a high-frequency ultrasound probe that breaks the cataract into tiny pieces. However, proponents of the femtosecond laser technique prefer the FLACS method because the introduction of too much energy into the eye during the phacoemulsification step has the potential to damage some anatomical structures, cause increased inflammation, and result in some vision problems post-operatively. During femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, the laser is first used to fragment the cataract, and then the ultrasound probe is applied later to finish the step. The use of the laser first means that less energy is required during phacoemulsification.

Once the cataract has been removed from the eye, a clear implant known as an intraocular lens will be inserted into the capsular bag. The cornea then tends to self-seal, though in a few cases, may require a stitch. The eye will then take 4 to 6 weeks to heal and settle before you are typically discharged from the care of your cataract surgeon, back to your local optometrist.

Both phacoemulsification and femtosecond-laser assisted cataract surgeries have pros and cons. Ultimately, both result in very similar visual outcomes and safety profiles.

What Happens During Cataract Surgery: The Experience

Cataract surgery can be a daunting experience for some, mainly due to the idea of an operation on the eyes. If you are particularly anxious, your ophthalmologist can offer you a light sedative. However, rarely is general anaesthesia used, as this can increase the rate of complications and prolong the cataract recovery process.

Rarely do patients report pain or distress during a cataract operation. Instead, you may experience the sensation of pressure around your eye during the surgery. If at any point during your surgery you feel that something is not quite right, it’s important to communicate this to your ophthalmologist so they are aware that you’re uncomfortable or the operation is not proceeding as anticipated.

You will still be able to perceive light and movement during the cataract surgery procedure but your vision will be quite blurry as the operation is taking place. Once the intraocular lens has been inserted, you may find your sight is relatively clear compared to your vision problems while you still had the cataract. However, if it’s not as clear as you were hoping or expecting, remember that it will take 4 to 6 weeks of recovery before it’s time to assess your final vision. During this recovery period, your sight may fluctuate, and your eye may feel slightly gritty, dry, and glare sensitive.

When is the Right Time for Cataract Surgery?

The timing of cataract surgery largely depends on how much your vision problems are bothering you. This point can vary widely from individual to individual. You may find it helpful to have a discussion with your optometrist or ophthalmologist about your hobbies, occupation, and other visual demands, to decide whether your sight has been impacted enough by your cataracts to warrant surgical intervention.

Calls us today on (03) 9070 5753.

Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

References

Cataract Surgery: Everything You Need to Know
https://www.allaboutvision.com/en-au/conditions/cataract-surgery/

15 Things You Need to Know About Cataract Surgery
https://visioneyeinstitute.com.au/eyematters/15-things-need-know-cataract-surgery/

Cataract surgery
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cataract-surgery

what are the symptoms of a cataract melbourne vic

What Are the Symptoms of a Cataract?

April 16, 2022/0 Comments/in Cataract Surgery /by armadaleeye

Cataract symptoms are not always as easily identifiable as many people may think. In fact, those currently developing cataracts may not even realise their visual symptoms are leading them down the path to eventual cataract surgery. Some put their difficulties down to “just getting old”, which in a way is true, as cataracts are typically a result of ageing. To find out what are the symptoms of a cataract, keep reading.

What Are the Symptoms of Cataract ?

Developing cataracts can result in a variety of visual symptoms. Not all of these will be noticeable to everyone with a cataract, and not everyone will be bothered to the same degree despite the same symptoms. In most cases, it’s the effect of developing cataracts on your quality of life that will guide the decision to cataract surgery.

So, typically, what are the symptoms of a cataract? In the early stages of a cataract, the answer is not much. However, as the cataracts progress, you may experience some or all of the following symptoms.

Deteriorating visual acuity.

Many people think cataracts just cause blurry vision. In actual fact, many patients don’t identify their vision as blurry. Instead, you may feel that words like “filmy”, “hazy”, “cloudy”, or “mucky” are more appropriate to describe the sensation. It may feel like looking through smudged or dirty glasses lenses that just can’t be cleaned. As cataracts tend to progress very slowly, you may not necessarily be aware of these changes to your vision. The deterioration of your clarity of sight may only be apparent during a routine eye test when compared to previous results.

Increasing glare sensitivity.

Although many people are naturally light sensitive even without developing cataracts, the presence of a cataract can exacerbate your sensitivity to glare. This can manifest in situations such as driving at night time when you are faced with the glare from traffic lights, other car headlights, and street lamps. This can cause you to feel uncomfortable and unsafe driving at night.

Decreasing contrast sensitivity.

The idea of contrast sensitivity may be a little abstract. However, think about trying to read a menu in a dimly lit restaurant, or trying to thread a needle in a corner of the room away from the window. Where these tasks may have not been too difficult several years ago, you may now find yourself needing better lighting to increase the contrast of the text in order to read it.

Frequent changes to your prescription.

As a cataract develops, it has the potential to change the refractive power of the lens of the eye.

This results in a shift in your prescription. Depending on the type and location of cataracts, this can cause your prescription to become more plus (a long-sighted shift) or more minus (a short-sighted shift).

As the cataract continues to grow, it can progressively cause further changes to your script. Although updating your glasses or contacts can delay the need for cataract surgery by improving your vision, this may just be short-lived and it can be expensive to continually buy new glasses so frequently.

Alterations to your colour vision.

One type of age-related cataract called nuclear sclerosis causes the lens to turn a yellowish-brown colour. This results in your colour perception being affected. However, rarely is this a cause for someone to seek cataract surgery, as many patients don’t notice this slow and subtle shift. However, once the cataracts are removed, you may be surprised to notice how bright and vibrant the colours are.

What are the Symptoms of a Cataract That Might Indicate Cataract Surgery is Necessary?

The decision to undergo cataract surgery is largely guided by how profoundly your cataract symptoms are affecting you. This will vary from individual to individual based on their hobbies, occupation, and their tolerance to changes to their sight. The majority with cataracts will elect to go for cataract surgery based on their deteriorating clarity of sight. However, you may find that although your visual acuity is still quite reasonable, you are having trouble driving comfortably at night as a taxi driver. Alternatively, an interior designer with good visual acuity and no issues with glare sensitivity may find their altered colour perception is interfering with their job. In these cases, cataract surgery can be a valid option.

If you are content with your vision despite the presence of a cataract, in most cases, there’s no harm to delay the cataract operation. A caveat to this is if your visual acuity fails to meet the driving vision standard in your state, in which case you will be strongly advised to undergo cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery is a straightforward procedure that removes the eye’s natural lens (containing the cataract) and replaces it with a clear implant. Once the cataract has been extracted, you will find your vision is much sharper, your prescription more stable, and your colours much brighter. As a side note, cataract surgery has the potential to cause glare sensitivity as a side effect, but this is typically short-lived and will self-resolve over a number of weeks to months.

An added benefit to cataract surgery is that the implant is usually calculated to correct your eye’s prescription. This means that you may no longer need to depend on glasses or contacts after your operation.

Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

References

Cataracts: Symptoms & Causes.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cataracts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353790

Cataracts.

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cataracts#symptoms

Cataracts.

https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/cataracts