A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens that can occur with aging, certain medical conditions and trauma. Cataracts may cause blurred vision, dulled vision, sensitivity to light and glare, and/or ghost images. If the cataract changes vision to the extent that it interferes with your daily life, the cataract may need to be removed.
Early-stage cataracts are most often detected by a slit-lamp examination, before any symptoms are detected by the patient. The question of how quickly cataracts progress cannot be answered in general terms. In some cases, it takes many years before the disease leads to blindness if left untreated, while in others it progresses rapidly within a few weeks. In the advanced stage, the following symptoms usually appear in varying degrees, indicating cataracts:
In addition to cataract, visual impairments such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can also occur around the age of 70. Regular ocular fundus checks must therefore be taken very seriously. Now you can do the self-test with the Amsler grid: Macular Degeneration (AMD) self-test.
Cataracts are caused by the eye’s natural lens becoming cloudy with age, leading to blurred vision, decreased contrast, and poor night vision. Besides age, other factors such as genetics, eye injury, certain diseases, and long-term use of certain medications can also increase the risk of cataracts. When vision impairment caused by cataracts significantly impacts daily life, surgery to replace the cloudy natural lens with an artificial one is the only effective treatment.
Cataracts cannot be treated with medication or corrected with glasses. When the cataract impair vision to a degree where it negatively affects daily life, the only effective treatment is to surgically remove the cloudy lens (cataract extraction) and replace it with an implant, a so-called intraocular lens (IOL). In fact, Cataract Surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the world. During the operation, the natural clouded lens is replaced with a very small artificial lens (IOL).
Cataracts are curable! While there is no medication to treat cataracts, and untreated cataracts can eventually lead to blindness, cataract surgery offers a solution.
Cataract surgery is a safe and highly effective procedure that has been performed successfully for many years. It’s typically carried out on an outpatient basis.
The surgery is performed on an outpatient basis and usually takes 15 minutes per eye. Before the procedure, the eye is anesthetized with drops so that the patient does not feel any pain during refractive lens exchange. The eye is opened with a tiny corneal incision, which heals without sutures.
The anterior lens envelope is opened in a circular fashion. Then the lens core is removed. The rest of the lens envelope remains and serves as a ‘holding apparatus’ for the new lens.
Each patient receives a trifocal lens that is ideally adapted to his or her individual needs. This well-tolerated artificial lens can remain permanently in the eye and is not visible.
The surgeon inserts the new lens into the eye with an injector. The lens unfolds and is properly placed in the empty lens envelope by the surgeon. The trifocal lens corrects Cataracts in addition to other existing vision disorders (near-, farsightedness and astigmatism).
Early-stage cataracts are most often detected by a slit-lamp examination at the ophthalmologist’s office, before any symptoms are detected by the patient. The question of how quickly cataracts progress cannot be answered in general terms. In some cases, it takes many years before the disease leads to blindness if left untreated, while in others it progresses rapidly within a few weeks. If cataracts begin to affect daily activities (such as driving, reading, or recognizing faces), cataract surgery should be considered.
Full recovery will take several weeks. During this time, please avoid strenuous activity, rubbing your eyes, and swimming.
Cataract surgery is performed under local anesthesia, and most patients recover quickly and experience minimal discomfort after the procedure.
Once the cloudy natural lens is replaced by an artificial lens (IOL), cataracts themselves do not recur. However, some patients may develop “posterior capsule opacification” (PCO), where the capsule that originally held the IOL in place becomes cloudy over time. This condition can be resolved with a short laser treatment (YAG Capsulotomy).
