December 2022 - Armadale Eye Clinic

how long does a cataract surgery take melbourne

How Long Does a Cataract Surgery Take? All You Need to Know

December 30, 2022/0 Comments/in Armadale Eye Blogs /by armadaleeye

If you’re about to be one of the 250,000 Australians undergoing cataract surgery every year, you may have a few questions about this common eye care procedure. In addition to wondering how long does a cataract surgery take, you may also like to know whether there’s any way you can influence this duration. Here’s what to expect.

How Long Does a Cataract Surgery Take?

Not many people enjoy lying on an operating table, so you’ll be pleased to know that cataract surgery is usually quite a short procedure. Although your cataract surgeon will probably tell you to allow up to 2 hours in the clinic, the actual time spent on the cataract surgery itself is often as little as 10 to 15 minutes per eye. The rest of the time is spent preparing your eye for surgery, such as sterilising the area, dilating your pupils with eyedrops, administering sedation, and then ensuring that after your cataract surgery, you’re feeling okay before being driven home.

When it comes to the cataract operation itself, there are several factors that can affect the duration of your procedure. These can include:

Whether your pupils dilate well with the eyedrops or need further intervention. Pupil dilation is an important step in the cataract surgery procedure because the cataract sits behind the iris. Widening the aperture in the middle of the iris, the pupil, allows the surgeon to access the cataract with all his or her tools. An inadequately dilated pupil can be a cause for complications during the operation, so if pharmacological eyedrops are insufficient, your cataract surgeon will need to employ another technique. Needing to insert iris stitches, iris hooks, or ring expanders during the operation will prolong the surgery time.
Experience of your surgeon. As expected, the more experienced your cataract surgeon, the shorter the answer to how long does a cataract surgery take. Conversely, a more junior surgeon may take longer as he or she moves more cautiously or may take more time to manage complications during the cataract surgery.
The type of anaesthesia can also make a difference to your cataract surgery duration. A general anaesthetic is not typically used for this outpatient eye care operation, however, cataract surgeons may choose between a local anaesthetic or nerve block, or topical anaesthesia with numbing eye drops. Using topical anaesthetic will keep operating time shorter while administering local anaesthesia naturally takes a longer time. There are pros and cons of each type of anaesthesia, so you may wish to discuss this with your cataract surgeon ahead of time if you’re concerned.
If your surgeon encounters any complications during the cataract surgery, it will naturally extend the operating time. Some complications can be anticipated, such as if you have known risk factors, while others are unexpected. If your operation is less straightforward than average, your cataract surgeon will need to use additional interventions or simply move more slowly and cautiously.

Can You Influence How Long Your Cataract Surgery Takes?

While the unexpected can happen even in the hands of the most prepared and experienced eye care surgeons, there are some steps you can take to minimise the likelihood of a prolonged operation. Bear in mind that these do not guarantee you a perfectly smooth and uneventful cataract extraction but can help to reduce the risk of encountering a complication or adverse outcome.

Ensure that your cataract surgeon is fully aware of your general health and medications. Although you may feel an over-the-counter medication you take is irrelevant to your cataract operation, you may be surprised at how different systemic medications or other health conditions can interact with the success of your cataract surgery. Even naturopathic herbal remedies may factor in. For example, turmeric or curcumin is often taken for its antioxidant effects, but not everyone knows it also has blood-thinning properties, which can affect wound healing after surgery.

Don’t wait for too long to go for your cataract operation. Infrequently is there a need for an eye care practitioner to encourage a patient towards cataract surgery before they feel ready. In most cases, it’s safe to postpone the operation until you feel your vision is significantly impacting your daily tasks. However, people who allow their cataract to advance to a hypermature stage are at a higher risk of experiencing a complication during their operation. More energy is required to break down an overly advanced cataract, and there is often more post-operative inflammation in the eye. If you’re unsure when is the appropriate timing for your cataract surgery, your optometrist or ophthalmologist will be able to perform regular reviews and advise you accordingly.

Depending on where you live and whether you have your operation via the private or public system, you may not have many options for choice of cataract surgeon. However, if the choice is available to you, choose a reputable, experienced ophthalmologist. You may wish to ask your family optometrist or GP for recommendations or get a personal recommendation from friends or family who have had a successful cataract operation with a particular surgeon.

Ultimately, it is not possible to completely control what will happen on the operating table. However, taking sensible precautions and keeping an open line of communication with your cataract surgeon can help to contribute to a smooth and uneventful procedure. Call us now 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

The incidence of falls after first and second eye cataract surgery: a longitudinal cohort study.
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2022/217/2/incidence-falls-after-first-and-second-eye-cataract-surgery-longitudinal-cohort#:~:text=In%20Australia%2C%20about%20250%20000,one%E2%80%90third%20in%20public%20hospitals.

Factors affecting cataract surgery operating time among trainees and consultants.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30879720/

glaucoma symptoms melbourne

Glaucoma Symptoms — Discover Them Early to Save Your Sight

December 14, 2022/0 Comments/in Armadale Eye Blogs /by armadaleeye

Even if you’re not entirely sure what glaucoma is, it’s likely you’ve at least heard of the term. Conversely, you may be well familiar with this disease through a family member who is under the care of a glaucoma specialist for ongoing management. If you do have a blood relative undergoing glaucoma treatment, this puts you at a higher risk of one day requiring glaucoma management yourself. Although glaucoma symptoms are experienced in only a minority of cases, being aware of them could potentially save your sight.

What are the Glaucoma Symptoms?

As mentioned earlier, glaucoma symptoms actually occur quite infrequently. This is because the majority of glaucoma cases are a subtype known as open-angle glaucoma, which tends to develop slowly and silently.

In another subtype of glaucoma known as closed angle or angle-closure glaucoma, you may experience some glaucoma symptoms. In situations of sudden, acute angle closure, glaucoma symptoms can include:

Sudden and severe pain around the eye
Nausea with or without vomiting
Headache
Watering eye
Red eye
Blurred vision
Haloes around lights

Angle-closure glaucoma is an ocular emergency, and you should seek urgent glaucoma management if you suspect your symptoms are due to this condition.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a type of eye disease that can result in permanent loss of sight. It’s not common to lose all your sight, but there can be a significant loss if glaucoma treatment is delayed.

Glaucoma involves damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve brings neural signals from the eyeball to the brain. During this disease, retinal nerve fibres slowly die away. The damage usually begins in the nerves that connect to the periphery of the retina, meaning most cases of glaucoma begin with loss in the peripheral visual field. However, this damage to the nerve fibres and loss of sight is painless, which is why experiencing glaucoma symptoms is not common. It is also the reason why many people don’t seek glaucoma treatment in a timely manner. In fact, around 50% of Australians with glaucoma don’t realise they have the condition.

It’s not fully understood what causes this disease. In essence, the pressure inside the eyeball, known as intraocular pressure, is too high for the health of the optic nerve. However, it is not clear why some optic nerves are more susceptible to intraocular pressure or why some people require glaucoma management even when their intraocular pressures are within a normal range.

Your glaucoma specialist divides this condition into two broad categories mentioned above – open-angle glaucoma and closed-angle glaucoma. The angle refers to the gap created between where the coloured iris meets the transparent cornea. Aqueous humour fluid is drained through this structure as part of the normal cycle of aqueous production and outflow. As described in the name, open-angle glaucoma involves this gap being adequately open for the sufficient drainage of fluid. However, fluid is still unable to drain through these channels at a normal rate, typically resulting in an increase in intraocular pressure.

In closed-angle glaucoma, there is very little space between the iris and the cornea for fluid to enter the drainage channels at the angle. This physical hindrance to fluid drainage causes a rise in intraocular pressure. Sometimes, this angle can close very suddenly, resulting in a sudden and very high spike in intraocular pressure. This is known as acute angle closure glaucoma.

Glaucoma Management

If you’re looking for glaucoma treatment, it is not always necessary to see a glaucoma specialist. Many general ophthalmologists are capable of providing glaucoma treatment. However, you may be referred to an ophthalmologist with a specialised interest in glaucoma if you require more complex treatments, such as surgery.

Because most cases of glaucoma begin silently with no noticeable symptoms, it’s most likely that your condition will first be picked up during a routine eye exam, perhaps with your local optometrist. You may have some or all of the following tests to diagnose glaucoma:

Tonometry to measure the intraocular pressure
Fundoscopy to visualise the optic nerve
Retinal photography to record the appearance of the optic nerve
Optical coherence tomography scanning for additional measurements of the retinal nerve fibre layer
Visual field testing to assess any damage to your peripheral vision

While some cases of glaucoma are obvious, others can take some time to diagnose. The results of the tests may not always be conclusive or may need several results over a period of time to ascertain if there is true progressive glaucomatous damage.

If your optometrist is the first to suspect glaucoma, he or she may initiate treatment if suitably qualified or may refer you immediately to an ophthalmologist.

Treatment for glaucoma will vary based on a number of factors. If you have angle closure glaucoma, the primary aim is to widen the angle to allow aqueous humour to flow out. This is typically achieved through a procedure known as a peripheral laser iridotomy. During this in-room procedure, the ophthalmologist uses a laser to create a small hole near the outer edge of your iris to allow aqueous to drain out that way. Some people with angle closure may also benefit from cataract surgery. Removing the eye’s natural lens allows the iris to move backward, creating more space between the iris and the cornea.

For those with open-angle glaucoma, first-line treatment is usually in the form of eye drops to lower the intraocular pressure. If eyedrops are ineffective or if you have difficulty instilling them, you may be offered surgery or selective laser trabeculoplasty. Both these treatment options are aimed at increasing the outflow of aqueous from the eye.

Call us on (03) 9070 5753 today.

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

References

Glaucoma.
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/glaucoma

What is Glaucoma? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment.
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-glaucoma