Therapeutic Innovations in Cataract Treatment

Is Cataract Exclusively an Age-Related Disorder?

Cataracts manifest as an opacification of the eye's lens. This disorder affects thousands of patients over 65 years old. It is a progressive and inevitable clouding of the eye's lens, which ensures the focusing and sharpness of images on the retina.

As opacity increases, vision is progressively reduced, and people are no longer able to drive cars and read clearly. The appearance of cataracts is mainly due to aging, in the same way as wrinkles and gray hair. Today, we know that at the age of 70, three out of four people have cataracts. At the age of 80, everyone suffers from it. People can buy a large-screen TV, sit very close, and decide to spend most of their time at home and no longer drive a car.

High myopia promotes the development of cataracts, which appear around the age of 50. The same is true for patients who have suffered from diabetes for years. In a small number of cases, a cataract can occur at birth; this is called congenital cataract. Traumatic cataract can occur following an eye trauma, which is a consequence not of age but of the trauma suffered.

The overuse of medication, such as cortisone, for long periods, without control by an ophthalmologist, can trigger the presence of cataracts often associated with glaucoma. In short, cataracts can occur at any age.

This is why it is important to inform patients that cataract surgery can be performed at any age and in the presence of significant concomitant general pathologies.

What are the most common cataract surgery techniques?

Today, cataract surgery involves fragmenting and removing the opaque lens and replacing it with an artificial lens, which can be customized to correct the three far vision defects (myopia, astigmatism, and hypermetropia) and does not require wearing reading glasses.

Modern surgical techniques allow this micro-lens, the artificial lens, to be inserted inside the eye to radically improve people's vision and eliminate the need for glasses.

The established technique of phacoemulsification is used in the vast majority of cases.

Today, the use of LASIK for cataract surgery is becoming widespread, an innovative technology that allows for the perfect standardization of the execution of certain steps, corneal incisions, and pre-fragmentation of the lens nucleus.

These techniques and technologies are quite expensive and, for this reason, are not used in public hospitals.

Visual recovery normally takes place the day after the operation, although, in some cases, the time of visual recovery can vary considerably. The operation can take about 15 minutes.

In the postoperative period, it is mandatory to strictly follow the treatment indicated by the ophthalmologist.

Cataract surgery with artificial lens implantation

Cataract surgery is normally only performed once in a lifetime.

A few months to a few years after cataract surgery, it is necessary to perform what is called "lens cleaning": the posterior capsule, a kind of hammock which, during the first week, supports the artificial lens, preventing it from sliding to the bottom of the eye. The application of YAG laser technology in just a few minutes restores the previous situation without causing damage to the vision or the eyes themselves.

EXPRESS QUOTE

Would you like more information?

What does laser and ultrasound cataract treatment involve?

The most widely used technology today is the one that uses ultrasound to fragment the lens nucleus into tiny pieces, which can have different forms of compactness and hardness.

The Femtolaser, which appeared a few years ago, allows the capsular bag containing the cataract to be opened perfectly and repeatably.

It also facilitates the performance of corneal incisions and pre-treats the nucleus to be emulsified. In all cases, it is necessary to have cataract surgery as soon as it appears.

A soft lens nucleus promotes a positive surgical outcome.

Operating on cataracts that have been present for several years is difficult and increases the risk of surgical complications.

Given their high cost, innovative technologies are not present in public hospitals today.

How can cataracts be prevented?

Cataracts are not actually very easy to prevent.

One is better protected against trauma or better controls one's blood sugar with a specific diet.

The consumption of antioxidants has been recommended for years. Eat red, green, yellow, and orange fruits and vegetables.

Possible prevention consists of having a dedicated annual medical check-up with your ophthalmologist.

The use of a good pair of sunglasses to protect against UV rays is recommended. Too many people, when they go for an eye exam, boast that they have never worn sunglasses because their eyes were healthy and strong and they didn't need them. But let's keep in mind that, sooner or later, the problem of cataracts presents itself to each of us, and that we must then be open to finding the best possible solution in due course!

[dt_sc_button title="Free Quote" size="medium" style="bordered" icon_type="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1/tds%2Fdevis%2F" textcolor="#ffffff" bgcolor="#0c73ba"]