Cataract is one of the most common eye pathologies found among the elderly. Leading to a significant decrease in vision, the disease complicates all kinds of work, limits the possibilities and even can cause irreversible blindness. By contacting an ophthalmologist in time and taking a course of quality treatment, you can restore normal vision and return to a full-fledged lifestyle.
Clouding of the lens is quite capable of causing absolute blindness, so therapy is not without surgical intervention. All kinds of medicines only slow down the course of the disease.
Cataract surgery with lens replacement is one of the most popular surgical procedures in general. After all, this is the only effective method of treating progressive eye disease. During cataract surgery, a clouded lens is removed and replaced with an artificial prosthesis. Surgical therapy in almost all cases guarantees an almost complete restoration of normal vision.
Disease definition
Cataracts are a natural clouding of the eye lens, which in the body plays the role of a natural lens. Like all other organs, it is also subject to an absolutely normal process of gradual aging, which leads to blurred vision. This happens in each organism at an individual pace, while some medications, as well as various eye injuries and smoking, can accelerate the onset of cataracts.
Most often, this disease is explained by the mature age of the patient, due to which he is sometimes even called senile cataract. As a rule, people over 60 years old face this pathology. And only occasionally cataract is a birth defect.
At first, the disease manifests itself as a kind of thin veil in the eyes, which gradually becomes more dense. In many cases, patients feel sensitive to light.
Sometimes it happens that for some time the patient improves vision due to changes in eye refraction. But very soon this positive change will be nullified, and all because of the progression of pathology. If the clouding of the lens continues uninterrupted and vision deteriorates gradually, cataract surgery is the only possible treatment option. By the way, such an surgical intervention is deservedly considered one of the safest.
Symptoms of Cataract
With the disease in people of mature age, lens clouding is extremely slow and can be detected very soon. But certain symptoms should alert everyone: the surrounding objects seem slightly faded or not clear enough, the colors fade, everything around looks distorted and as if covered with a veil.
Cataract patients become sensitive to light. Often the first sign of a cataract that occurs is a feeling of blinding from the sun or from the illumination of headlights moving towards cars.
Among other things, this pathology can change the refraction of the lens, because a clouded lens refracts incoming rays in a completely different way. That is why some patients suddenly notice that they have improved visual acuity, rejoice at the lack of the need to wear glasses. This phenomenon also complicates the timely diagnosis of the disease.
Cataract Diagnosis
At the stage when the pathology is progressing, it is very easy to detect, because it is clearly visible even with the naked eye: the lens visually becomes cloudy, whitish. But for those who are faced with the initial form of cataract, ophthalmologists have a lot of devices for recognizing the disease.
If the pathology has not yet progressed very much, then the optometrist can make a diagnosis by examining the eyes with a slit lamp, which plays the role of a kind of microscope. The special direction of the rays of this device makes it possible to conduct an optical section through the organ. So a specialist can accurately assess the location and extent of pathological changes in various tissues of the eye.
Preparation for surgery
If it was decided to perform an operation to remove the cataract, the patient will need to undergo several preliminary studies of the organ, during which every corner of the eye is examined. Using ultrasound, a specialist can accurately determine the need for implantation of a certain type of lens.
Then the doctor checks the general state of human health and monitors which medications the patient takes, in case there is a need to temporarily stop taking the medication immediately before the cataract surgery. This usually applies to blood thinners.
How do cataract surgery
A clouded lens can only be removed with surgery. During the operation on the eyes to remove cataracts, the damaged lens is taken out and replaced with a transparent artificial prosthesis, the characteristics of which are calculated previously.
Ophthalmology today is considered one of the most developed sciences, so this intervention is completely safe. The time of the operation depends on how much the pathology interferes with the patient. Usually it is carried out on an outpatient basis, so that the patient can return home only in a couple of hours.
If the pathological condition has spread to both eyes, then the operation is done to start on one of the damaged organs. The optometrist and the patient decide when the second procedure will be performed.
How long does cataract surgery last? In fact, the procedure is carried out very quickly - in just half an hour. In this case, specialists use local anesthesia. After the operation, the patient may well be immediately allowed to go home.
As for the types of surgical intervention, doctors can use:
- laser phacoemulsification;
- extracapsular;
- ultrasound;
- intracapsular extraction.
All these methods differ by the lens replacement method. Most often, various complications after cataract surgery occur after the use of intracapsular and extracapsular extraction. But some of the advantages of these techniques are also available.
In which case the patient is referred for surgery
Indications for surgical intervention can be medical and professional. As for the first option, here we can say that the operation will save all the functions of the body. It is necessary if:
- secondary glaucoma;
- damage to the lens;
- overripe cataracts;
- abnormal lens shapes.
Regarding professional and household indicators, surgery may be required for people who are faced with:
- insufficient visual acuity necessary to perform everyday tasks;
- narrowing of the field of vision, interfering with the usual activity;
- binocular low vision.
Typically, such indications are found among pilots, drivers, operators and representatives of other professions, for which clear vision is very important.
In general, an operation is prescribed without taking into account the stage of cataract. Indeed, only after cardinal therapy the patient will be able to return to normal life.
Contraindications
Of course, as is the case with any other medical procedures, surgical intervention is prohibited if certain factors are detected. It is noteworthy that in this case it does not matter at all which particular methodology was planned to be used.
Contraindications include:
- Infectious and inflammatory pathologies: for example, pathological processes in the iris, conjunctiva, and eye shell. In such a situation, the patient must first be treated with antibacterial drugs. Only after proper treatment can the question of surgery be resumed.
- Decompensated Glaucoma. With such a diagnosis, surgery is out of the question. Otherwise, vision may be permanently lost. The operation can be performed only after stabilization of intraocular pressure.
- Decompensated somatic pathologies. This category includes heart attack, stroke that occurred during the last half year, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, and malignant tumors.
- Pregnancy and lactation period. Cataract removal is accompanied by the use of painkillers, sedatives and antibacterial drugs. That is why experts recommend that future and newly minted mothers temporarily postpone surgery.
Contraindications may affect the patient's age. For example, patients under the age of 18 are subjected to the most thorough examinations.
Features of the operation
Such a procedure always consists of two main stages: first, the surgeon removes the damaged lens, leaving only his capsule, and then sets up an artificial lens, which is called intraocular. Today, phacoemulsification is considered universal among all operations to remove an obsolete organ, which is used by specialists from world famous clinics.
What is this procedure? Phacoemulsification is an absolutely safe and painless intervention that does not need to be performed in too large an incision and, as a rule, does not leave behind postoperative sutures. It was due to this operation that a huge number of people found a chance to regain full vision, ceasing to depend on glasses and contact lenses.
The essence of the procedure
There is a specific pattern of steps that specialists follow when replacing a damaged lens. How is cataract surgery performed? It consists of several stages:
- First, the surgeon makes a self-sealing incision and through it turns the clouded lens into an emulsion.
- Residual lenses are removed by suction.
- Then, an elastic artificial lens is placed in the organ, which itself straightens, taking the necessary shape.
The whole procedure is performed under local anesthesia in a hospital. An operation to remove cataracts lasts no longer than an hour, a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the eye and the neglect of pathology.
The operation has a lot of advantages:
- well tolerated by patients of different ages;
- It is absolutely painless;
- there is no need to adhere to serious restrictions during the rehabilitation period;
- no seams remain after it;
- Only safe materials and high-quality fixtures are used in the process.
All these advantages over outdated methods of surgical intervention make it possible to perform the operation as soon as possible with minimal complications.
Description of artificial lenses
The use of the intraocular lens allows you to achieve maximum comfort and safety for the patient. These lenses are made on the basis of inert plastic, which does not cause rejection by the body.
By its texture, this material is soft, so it can be easily folded and inserted into the lens cavity through a micro incision.
The lens is inserted in place of the removed lens, and then it straightens itself, taking its original shape, is fixed.
Risks and Possible Complications
As in the case with any other surgical interventions, during the phacoemulsification there is the possibility of the development of some complications. Cataract surgery is the least traumatic, but there are some minor risks:
- Despite the fact that the risk of infection during the operation is very small, it still exists. And for the prevention of infectious complications, patients after the procedure are prescribed drops containing antibiotics.
- It is extremely rare to experience hemorrhages. But it may well arise after a traumatic intervention with suturing.
- The body can respond to the introduction of various devices into the cavity of the eye by edema of the cornea. Usually this phenomenon passes on its own, but to speed up the process, the doctor may prescribe special drops.
- Another rare complication is an increase in intraocular pressure. Most often occurs in patients suffering from myopia. This side effect usually resolves on its own, but based on complaints, the doctor may prescribe drops.
Postoperative period
Usually, eye rehabilitation after cataract surgery is very fast. But this question largely depends on the qualifications of the surgeon and the patient himself.
For some time after the manipulations, the patient should be under the supervision of an ophthalmologist. According to reviews of cataract surgery, the operated person can safely go home only an hour after the intervention. Reappear in the clinic must be in a day, and then several more times in two weeks.
After replacing the lens, a soft dressing is applied to the patient to prevent various contaminants from entering the eye. You can remove it only after a few days. Instead of a bandage, you can arm yourself with special glasses.
At first, it is advisable to refuse exits to the street without any special need. After all, the final incision will heal only after a week.
As for reviews of cataract surgery, they are all extremely positive. As a rule, patients are satisfied with the quality of vision, the speed of manipulation and their well-being. According to the operated people, they felt improvement almost immediately after the operation.