Ophthalmologist - Lens Replacement Surgery
Austin, Texas
Replacing the eye’s natural lens with an artificial lens is a brief no-stitch/single stitch procedure. If you have been told you are developing cataracts, or if you have “middle-aged” vision that requires reading glasses (presbyopia), you could be a good candidate for a lens replacement surgery.
The Eye’s Crystalline Lens
Behind the colored iris, the lens is suspended by fibers. It is convex on both sides and its curvature is controlled by tiny muscles called ciliary muscles. It is inside a membrane pocket and is kept moist by the eye’s internal fluids. It is made mostly of water and protein molecules and in a normal eye is entirely transparent.
Like all transparent curved structures, the lens redirects light that passes through it. In ophthalmological terms, the lens refracts incoming light to focus it on the retina. The retina on the inside back eye surface is filled with light-sensitive cells called rods and cones. Cones deal with bright light and register colors. Rods are fewer in number and operate in dim light.
Cataracts
If anything happens to the lens to make it less transparent, our vision is impaired. This is what cataracts do. They are tiny opacities in the lens that form in an aging eye. Each little cataract blocks some light. Over time, they enlarge and increase in number. If nothing is done, they will eventually cause severe visual impairment.
Cataract surgery is lens replacement surgery. Since there is no way to remove cataracts from a lens, the lens must be removed from the eye. It can be replaced with an intraocular lens (IOL). At Howerton Eye Care, we offer three kinds of IOL:
ReStOR® -- a multifocal IOL
ReZoom™ -- a multifocal IOL using different technology
Presbyopia
This middle-aged vision is also a lens problem. Although its causes are not fully understood and research is ongoing, it appears that as we age, the lens becomes stiffer. It becomes less able to steepen its curvature. Perhaps the ciliary muscles become weaker, also.
Because the lens keeps its curvature flatter, it cannot adequately refract light coming from near objects. Light from far objects does not need to be as sharply refracted to focus on the retina. So a presbyopic eye mostly retains its distance vision but slowly loses its near vision. A lens replacement surgery can be done to treat presbyopia.
Lens Replacement Procedure
After numbing the eye and making sure you are comfortable, Ophthalmologist, Dr. Howerton or Ophthalmologist, Dr. Berkowitz will make two small incisions at the side of the cornea.
A tiny ultrasound probe is inserted to disintegrate the natural lens. This is quick and not painful.
Gentle suction is used to remove the pieces easily through the same small incision.
The new lens is also inserted through that incision. Your eye surgeon will place it in the same pocket which previously held the natural lens.
The IOL is folded when inserted and once in position it unfolds. There are tiny arms, one on each side, which hold it in place.
The lens replacement procedure is an outpatient one, taking about an hour. Your vision will be progressively improved, although the full improvement will take a few weeks to become evident. There will be a follow-up visit the next day. You can resume quiet activities the next day also, but avoid any situation which could raise your blood pressure or put any pressure on your eyes. The incision closes up by itself.
If you would like to know more about lens replacement surgery, please call our office, or send an email. We will be glad to arrange a free consultation for you where you can have your questions clearly answered. Our ophthalmologist serves the entire Austin, Texas area.
