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Cataract Surgery

What Are Cataracts?

Inside your eye is a natural lens, which can gradually become yellow and cloudy. This loss of clarity is called a cataract and it’s very common. The “clouding” or “browning” of the lens makes images fuzzy and dull and can affect your sight in many ways.

There are a number of cataract symptoms you may experience, including:

Cloudy or blurry vision
Difficulty seeing at night; glare or halos around lights
Difficulty viewing a computer screen, phone, or tablet
Colors appear dim and faded
Double Vision
Frequent change in glasses prescription

What Causes Cataracts?

Cataracts are a natural part of getting older. As mentioned, cataracts usually develop because of aging. However, there are a number of additional risk factors that can cause cataracts to develop more quickly or earlier in life:

Disease – Glaucoma, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or an autoimmune disorder
Lifestyle – regularly using tobacco, alcohol, and/or corticosteroids
Overexposure – to sunlight, UV rays, or X-rays
Eye Trauma – including eye-related injuries, burns, and surgeries

What is Cataract Surgery?

At Howerton Eye, we aim to help you understand your vision and eye treatment options thoroughly. If you have been diagnosed with cataracts, the solution for correcting your vision is cataract surgery.

During cataract surgery, your eye doctor will remove your clouded eye lens and replace it with an intraocular lens, or IOL for short. This common outpatient procedure will restore your vision tremendously, not only taking care of your cataract problem, but also potentially alleviating presbyopia and astigmatism issues without additional surgery.

What to Know About Pre- and Post-Op Care

Before surgery, you’ll receive detailed instructions, including information on stopping certain medications and when to start using your eye drops. On surgery day, plan for someone to drive you to and from the procedure, since you will not be able to drive yourself. The procedure itself takes only 15-20 minutes per eye, performed under local anesthesia while you remain comfortable and awake. After surgery, you’ll wear a protective shield while sleeping for the first week.

Most patients resume normal activities within a day or two, though you should avoid heavy lifting, swimming, and rubbing your eyes for several weeks. Eye drops will be prescribed to prevent infection and reduce inflammation. It’s important to attend any follow-up appointments, which are typically scheduled at one day, one week, and one month post-surgery.

What to Expect After Cataract Surgery

Most patients notice improved vision within 24-48 hours, with full results developing over several weeks as your eye heals. Colors appear brighter and more vivid, and many patients find they need glasses less often, or not at all, depending on their IOL choice. While cataract surgery is typically very successful, it’s important to understand that your best possible vision will be achieved once healing is complete. Some patients experience temporary light sensitivity or mild discomfort initially. If you have cataracts in both eyes, the second eye is typically treated a few weeks after the first.

What are the Risks of Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery is one of the safest surgical procedures performed today. However, as with any surgery, there are potential risks to consider:

Infection is a possible complication, although very rare, and is managed with immediate antibiotic treatment. Inflammation is common but controlled with prescribed eye drops. Another possible complication is posterior capsule opacification, when the membrane behind the IOL becomes cloudy. This can happen months or years later and is easily corrected with a quick, painless laser procedure. Other rare complications include retinal detachment, increased eye pressure, or IOL displacement. At Howerton Eye, we minimize these risks through advanced surgical techniques, thorough pre-operative screening, and careful post-operative monitoring.

If any complication arises, prompt treatment typically results in excellent outcomes. Most patients experience smooth recoveries and life-changing vision improvement.

Don’t Let Cataracts Slow You Down!

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Deciding on Your IOL

How do you see the rest of your life? When you visit Howerton Eye for your cataract surgery consultation, you and your eye doctor will want to discuss your vision needs for the future in order to best select the IOL that is right for you. Some questions to consider would be:

What activities are important to you?
Do you often use computers or mobile devices?
What do you do for a living?
Do you spend time in dimly lit environments?
Do you prefer to read digitally or in print?
Do you use eyeglasses to read?
How do you feel about eyeglasses and contacts?
Have you been diagnosed with astigmatism?

These questions can help you and your eye doctor decide on the visual range you will need. Visual range plays a key role in deciding which IOL will meet your needs. Continue below for a short summary of the different IOL options available to you and how they relate to different eye treatment conditions and needs.

Monofocal IOLs are your basic option. They help you see far away, which means you’ll likely need reading glasses or contacts to help you focus on near and intermediate objects.

Multifocal IOLs provide excellent distance vision, just like Monofocal IOLs. They also provide personalized near vision so you can focus where you use your vision the most while relying on glasses less often for daily tasks.

Specially designed Toric IOLs address both your astigmatism and cataracts without an additional surgery. Which is great since studies show that nearly 40% of patients with cataracts would also benefit from astigmatism correction. These lenses are available in Monofocal for clear distance vision, as well as EDOF (Extended Depth of Focus) for continuous vision across the full range.

Schedule Your Eye Doctor Consultation

For many patients, the clarity and color of their vision right after cataract surgery is amazing. Cataract surgery has improved the lives of millions of people around the world and you could be next! This procedure could give you freedom from heavy reliance on eyeglasses and contact lenses, enhancing your quality of life. If you have any questions about cataract surgery, please contact us today. You may also request an appointment for a consultation directly online. The eye doctors and staff at Howerton Eye can’t wait to help you see a difference in your vision!