Cataract Treatment from Your Eye Doctor
Cataract formation is the natural aging of the eye. Over half of the individuals who are at least 75 years old will develop cataracts. Cataracts can be diagnosis with an eye exam and treatment of this disorder with surgery can restore your vision. Our very skilled ophthalmologists can help you regain your vision with surgery using the latest techniques and equipment.
Understanding Cataracts
A cataract is a protein deposit that accumulates on an eye’s lens. Most patients develop cataracts in both eyes. As the accumulation grows, they experience increasingly cloudy vision. Common activities such as night driving, reading, or recognizing familiar faces might become difficult.
Our doctors can diagnosis a cataract during a comprehensive vision exam. Early cataracts are mild and they create few if any symptoms. However, patients are likely to experience some of these common signs as the cataract progresses:
- Dim, blurry, or cloudy vision
- More frequent changes in eyewear prescriptions
- Dimming or yellowing of colors
- Sensitivity to light and glare
- Seeing double
- Trouble seeing after dark
- Halos around lights
- Needing brighter light to perform close work
Several factors raise the risk of developing cataracts in addition to age. The most common include:
- Use of tobacco
- Hypertension
- Extra body weight
- Long-term corticosteroid use
- Previous eye surgery
- Preceding eye inflammation or injury
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Sunlight overexposure
- Specific systemic diseases
How Our Eye Doctor Treats Cataracts
The only way to cure a cataract is to surgically remove it. However, regular monitoring with changes in corrective eyewear benefits many patients with cataracts still in their early stages.
Once our eye care professionals have determined that cataracts have begun to interfere with a patient’s normal daily routine and their ability to see well, they may recommend cataract surgery. In this painless outpatient procedure, the surgeon removes the affected lens and inserts an artificial implant in its place much like replacing the lens of a camera. Many patients enjoy better vision with less dependence on glasses or contact lenses after surgery. Our doctors can provide the latest intraocular implants to correct your vision.