Cataract - What Do You Know About It?

Hello

Apko aankh mein cataract hai, motiyabind hai? hai. So cataract aur motiyabind what people called in colloquial language is the most common cause of poor vision in elderly population so what exactly is cataract? like a camera human eye behaves in the same manner, in the camera there is a lens that focuses light onto film, same way in human eyes have a lens which is transparent when we are young and this is the lens that focuses light to reach the retina. As we age this lens starts to become solidified and this is what leads to the formation of cataract, so with cataract there is scattering of light and because of that early symptoms in the form of glare or in the form of halos starts to appear, this is what people start experiencing when they have an early cataract, slowly their vision starts to decrease and over a period of time they start seeing things dull and eventually they start losing their vision.

The treatment for cataract is quite simple, it is a simple surgery which is done using a special machine called phacoemulsification, it's no longer like what we used to have in the older days that the cataract surgery required, the cataract to become extremely mature, now even an early cataract can be operated with new technique called as microincision cataract surgery. In this procedure, what we do is make a small incision which is only 2 millimetres in size and using a special device or phacoemulsification machine we give longitudinal or transitional ultrasound energy that breaks down the hard cataract into small pieces which is then sucked into the machine. Using the same 2 millimetre incision an intraocular lens which is folded on itself is implanted in the eye, this lens takes the place of your original lens, so in short what is done during cataract surgery is a small nick is made in the side of the eye and using this nick a special machine enters the eye that removes the cataract and then we place a new lens inside the eye using the same incision, it is now it is a new lens makes you see everything clearly.

So in today’s era we have different types of lenses that are available to us in the cataract surgery so broadly what we use are two different types of lenses, one is called monofocal, other is called multifocal lens of focal lens. So what does a monofocal lens do? As the name suggests it has only one focus so patients would be independent of their glasses for distance, but for reading activity one would need to wear glasses; however, if one wants to opt to be independent of glasses for both distance and for reading, one may choose multifocal IOL. In today’s era cataract surgery is not just what is common to everyone, what is done is customized cataract surgery wherein we do a series of tests before the cataract surgery in order to understand one's requirement and then we can help someone to be independent of their glasses for all the range of activities such as reading, watching computer and also for the distant activities such as driving. So in case you want to consult me you can contact me through Lybrate.

Thank you