Cataract

The Light Adjustable Lens represents a revolutionary breakthrough in cataract treatment, offering you unprecedented control over your final vision. This first-of-its-kind adjustable lens uses unique macromer technology that allows us to customize your vision after surgery through a series of brief light treatments in our office. You’ll participate in “test drives” of your vision between adjustments, allowing you to experience different visual outcomes and collaborate with us to achieve your preferred result.

The Envista Envy tri-focal lens is an exciting option for patients who want clear vision at multiple distances without relying on glasses. This advanced lens provides excellent distance, intermediate, and near vision simultaneously, allowing you to enjoy activities like driving, using a computer, and reading without constantly switching between different pairs of glasses. We’re proud to offer this innovative lens technology to our patients and can help you determine if it’s the right choice for your lifestyle and vision needs.

The Crystalens is a unique accommodating intraocular lens designed to move and flex inside your eye, similar to how your natural lens once worked. This movement helps provide a more natural range of vision compared to traditional fixed-focus lenses. Many patients who choose Crystalens experience improved vision at multiple distances, reducing their dependence on reading glasses for everyday tasks.

Most patients have some amount of astigmatism in their cornea, wherein the cornea is shaped somewhat like a football more than a sphere. Historically, patients have astigmatism corrected by glasses or contacts. However, at the time of cataract surgery, astigmatism can be corrected by a special type of lens called a toric intraocular lens, or laser treatment of the cornea with a femtosecond laser. Depending on how much and the pattern of the astigmatism, your doctor will make a recommendation as to what is best for your eyes. By correcting astigmatism, we can achieve great distance vision or great near vision, but not both.

Cataracts occur when the natural lens inside your eye becomes cloudy, blocking light from reaching the retina and causing blurred or dimmed vision. This clouding happens when proteins in the lens break down and cluster together, creating opaque areas that interfere with your sight. Most cataracts develop gradually as a normal part of aging, though they can also result from injury, certain medications, or medical conditions like diabetes.

While aging is the most common cause of cataracts, several other factors can contribute to their development. Medical conditions such as diabetes, previous eye injuries, long-term use of steroid medications, and extended exposure to ultraviolet sunlight can all accelerate cataract formation. Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and a family history of cataracts may also increase your risk of developing this condition earlier in life.

The actual cataract surgery procedure typically takes only about 10 minutes to complete, though you should plan to be at our facility for approximately two hours for pre-operative preparation and post-operative monitoring. The surgery itself is performed using advanced microsurgical techniques with high-frequency ultrasound under local anesthetic, making it quick, safe, and virtually painless. Most patients are pleasantly surprised by how fast and comfortable the procedure is.

You can resume most normal activities, including bending over, within a day or two after your cataract surgery, though we recommend avoiding extreme bending or heavy lifting for the first week. It’s best to avoid bending at the waist with your head below your heart during the first few days to minimize pressure on your healing eye. Your surgeon will provide specific guidelines based on your individual healing progress, but most patients find these restrictions minimal and easy to follow.

Once a cataract is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens, the cataract itself cannot return because the natural lens has been permanently removed. However, some patients may develop a condition called posterior capsule opacification, where the membrane behind the artificial lens becomes cloudy, causing similar symptoms to a cataract. This condition is easily treated with a quick, painless laser procedure that clears the cloudy membrane and restores clear vision.