Cataracts

About Cataracts

A cataract is a cloudy lens that blocks the path of light into the eye and makes vision blurry or hazy. Cataracts usually begin after age 50 and get progressively worse with time. Symptoms may include:

• Difficulty with night driving
• Blurred vision
• “Halo” effect or streaking around lights
• Double vision
• Reduced night vision
• Fading or dull colors

Early on, a the symptoms of a cataract can be overcome with glasses or contacts, but once the cataract begins to interfere with daily tasks such as reading and driving, surgery may be the best option.

Cataract Surgery

In cataract surgery, the cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) that compensates for the magnification the old lens provided. Some modern lens implants can also get rid of astigmatism and create greater independence from glasses. See below for a brief comparison of the various types of lens implants that Dr. Sorenson uses.

Cataract surgery is a very common and successful procedure, and complications (if any) are rare and treatable. It is an outpatient procedure that usually takes less than 20 minutes to complete.

Lens Types

• Crystalens™
• Multifocal Lens
• Toric Lens

The Crystalens™  is an artificial lens implant that, unlike a standard IOL, can treat both a person’s cataracts and presbyopia—loss of near and intermediate vision. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye’s natural lens. It is the only implant lens approved by the FDA as an accommodating IOL. The Crystalens™ is designed to allow the optic, or the central circular part of the lens that you see through, to move back and forth as you constantly change focus on images around you. The Crystalens™, like your natural lens, flexes as you focus your vision. While the ideal outcome would produce a complete independence from glasses by using a Crystalens™, most of our patients find a some continued need for glasses if reading text at a near range or for extended periods of time. For more information, click here for the Crystalens™ website.

Multifocal IOLs (Tecnis Multifocal or Restor)provide for simultaneous viewing of both distance vision and near vision. Perhaps 5% of patients report bothersome glare and halos at night time with these lenses. The multifocal IOLs

Toric IOLs correct astigmatism in addition to providing a replacement for a cataract. Their unique shape is placed at a specific angle to counteract a patient’s astigmatism.

Recovery

The patient may return home the day of the procedure. With proper rest and avoidance of any strenuous activities such as heavy lifting, recovery is usually a matter of days, with only minor discomfort. Several follow up appointments will be required to ensure the eye is healing properly and initial results are sustained.

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