Understanding Cataracts Process

Cataract Surgery is the process of removal of the natural lens of the eye (which becomes opaque/ white with age and is called a cataract) and placement of an artificial lens inside the eye for improvement of vision.

This is usually done by the process of Phacoemulsification which uses ultrasound energy and is called ‘laser’ in layman's terms. During the surgery, small holes (less than 3mm in size) are made in the eye, through which instruments are placed into the eye by the surgeon. Using these instruments and ultrasound energy, the lens is dissolved and sucked (aspirated) out of the eye and in its place a new lens is placed in the same bag where the natural lens was housed. The holes were made as sealed without any stitches and healed within 7-8 days.

Usually, the surgery is done by numbing (anaesthetizing) the eye using eye drops. Sometimes, if the cataract is advanced/ eye conditions are unfavourable/the patient is apprehensive, the eye is numbed using injections around the eye as well. The surgery takes around 15 minutes or so, sometimes more in complicated cases; and is done on a Daycare basis- with the patient going home after surgery on the same day.

The artificial lens placed inside the eye (Intra Ocular Lens) works throughout life and does not need replacement. This lens can be of many types and the power is customized for each eye. The kind of lens that will work best for a patient is decided by the operating surgeon after a full evaluation of the patient and the eye. A lens that works well for one patient may not work as well for another person. Hence careful consideration is needed by both the surgeon and the patient, to reach a decision regarding the same.