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What Are Cataracts?
What Are Cataracts?A cataract is a gradual clouding of the eye’s natural crystalline lens. The lens assists with focusing light rays onto the retina, which in turn translates the image to the brain. After the cataract starts to cloud, it is impossible to return the lens to its clear state with drugs or medications. Laser Cataract Surgery will be required. Some people think cataracts are a growth on the outside of the eye, but it is a clouding effect occurring with the lens located inside your eye just behind the pupil. Various factors may increase the onset of a cataract, but virtually anyone who gets old enough will sooner or later develop cataracts. The National Eye Institute (NEI) has listed UV radiation and cigarette smoking as being potentially likely to increase the development of cataracts.
What is Laser Cataract Surgery?
If you are like most patients first starting to experience the onset of cataracts, you might not even be aware you have cataracts. Many people will suffer for years with cataracts as they “ripen” and mature with cloudiness. Most cataract patients complain about a dullness of colors and night driving problems. Cataracts will gradually limit a person’s ability to do simple and basic lifestyle things like reading a paper, driving, seeing road signs and even exercising. About 50% of people over the age of 60 and many younger than that suffer from cataracts. In fact, cataracts are so common, it is said that everyone will develop a cataract if they live long enough.
Laser Cataract Surgery used to be a very complicated procedure; but with the advent of phacoemulsification pioneered by Charles Kelman in the late 1960s and early 1970s, modern cataract surgery is much safer, simpler and effective. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, more than 3 million people have cataract surgery each year. It has become one of the most common medical surgeries performed in the United States. Now, with modern Laser Cataract Surgery techniques, it has become an outpatient procedure which typically takes about 10-15 minutes to complete per case. The Florida cataract surgeons at Clay Eye are all excellent surgical ophthalmologists, well skilled in Laser Cataract Surgery and lifestyle lens implantation. They can explain the various vision correction options for after Laser Cataract Surgery and can explain how to put you on a path to seeing better without complete dependence on glasses.
