If you have glare in bright daylight, and you can see better on cloudy days and at dusk, you may suspect a cataract, i.e. a cataract. It significantly hinders normal functioning. You can get rid of cataracts by surgically replacing your own lens in the eye with an artificial one.

If thelenswere not transparent, it could be seen through the pupil - a circular hole in the colored iriseye . When we look at it under a microscope, we see that it is made of concentric rings. Thanks to its structure, it can focus light rays precisely on the retina, and this is what determines whether we can see objects sharply from far and close. If something bad happens to the lens, e.g. whencataractstarts to get cloudy, we see worse and worse. When it becomes completely cloudy, we lose our eyesight; we only distinguish between day and night, light and shadow.

When cataract surgery is necessary

You should operate as soon as the cataract starts to make your life difficult. There was a time when it was believed that cataracts should "mature", that is, the lens must be completely cloudy in order to be operated on. Now it is done at every stage of the disease development.
The treatment is simple and takes 25-35 minutes. It can be performed on an outpatient basis - after two hours, the caregiver can take us home - or in the hospital, then we are there for 1-3 days. If the cataract affects both eyes, one is operated first, and after a dozen or so days the second.
Two methods are used in cataract removal: intracapsular and extracapsular. The first, almost historical, involves the removal of the cloudy lens with the bag, in which it is located. In order for the eye to see well, you need to wear glasses, usually quite strong (about +10 diopters). Today, the most commonly used extracapsular method and its latest version - phacoemulsification.

According to an expertDr. Elżbieta Archacka, specialist in eye diseases

Cataracts are progressive clouding of the lens. It can start from the center and move towards its edges, or vice versa: from the edge it may move towards the center. Cataracts usually result from the aging of the organism, although it is also (rarely) congenital.

It affects mainly people 60-80 years old, but it also happens to 40-year-olds. In younger people, cataracts are often caused by eye injuries, working in harmful conditions (e.g. inmetallurgy), eye contact with chemicals, steroid therapy, inflammation of the interior of the eye or chronic diseases, e.g. diabetes, asthma.

Cataracts cannot be prevented by living the right lifestyle or by taking eye drops. Cataracts sometimes take several months to develop, and sometimes over many years. But the effect is always the same: the deterioration of vision, most often in both eyes, but of varying intensity. The disease is easy to diagnose. It is enough for the doctor to apply drops to the eye to dilate the pupil and to carefully examine the lens. When it is cloudy, we suffer from cataracts.

How does cataract surgery work

The eye can also be anesthetized with drops (so-called drip anesthesia). The ophthalmic surgeon then places a support clamp on the upper and lower eyelids. Then he makes 3-4 mm incisions in the upper side of the eyeball. Using an ultrasound-emitting phacoemulsifier - a pen-like device with a thin, short needle - the doctor breaks down the core of the lens and surrounding cortical masses, and then sucks them out. He inserts an artificial lens into the eye through the incision and tunnel opening. It is usually made of a hydrogel or silicone, and has a pad that makes it easier to stabilize it in the right position. Soft and flexible, it can be rolled up into a roll that is easy to slip into the bag left over after removing the natural lens. The surgeon straightens the artificial lens and places it in the position it was originally in the natural one. The last stage of the procedure is sealing the wound on the eyeball or - in some cases - applying a single suture. Finally, a sterile dressing is placed over the eye.

Important

You have a cataract and are waiting for surgery? Insist on testing to rule out the onset of macular degeneration. Because replacing the lens with an artificial one can rapidly accelerate the development of AMD and even lead to loss of vision.

After cataract surgery

Unfortunately, artificial lenses do not accommodate, so they do not have the ability to adapt to seeing from afar or close. This is why we usually have to wear glasses after surgery, but they are much weaker. Before the operation, the doctor calculates how strong the lens should be implanted. For example, when we were wearing glasses with a power of -10 diopters before the procedure, the lens is selected so that we wear corrective lenses with a power of, for example, -3 diopters, and read up close without glasses. If, however, our eyesight was normal before the surgery, the lens power is calculated so that we can see well from a distance after the surgery, and we use lenses for reading, e.g. from +2 to +3 diopters. If we want to wear contact lenses, there are no medical contraindications.

After treatment

  • The doctor checks the eye every day for three days; then he individually appoints the dates of subsequent follow-up visits, e.g. after two and six weeks.
  • We have to wear a bandage one day. Then, for a week, we put it on for the night and go outside.
  • You must not touch your eye with your hand or a tissue, so as not to infect it.
  • We can move normally, shake our head, bend down without fear that the lens will fall out. However, for 2-3 weeks we should not perform work that requires a lot of effort. If you suffer from constipation, you'd better take a mild laxative so you don't tense your muscles.
  • The eye adjusts to the artificial lens for 4-6 weeks.

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Eye diseases and vision disorders