Cataract

Cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens as a result of the loss of its transparency.

Cataract, which develops at a higher incidence with the advancing age, may also rarely occur congenitally in the infants. Cataract may develop in association with traumas, diabetes and eye diseases like glaucoma and uveitis, and may also develop as a result of the use of medications in rare cases. The patient who experiences a gradually impaired vision may have complaints like glare, clouded vision, difficulty in reading and difficulty in perceiving the colors. Cataract is a disease able to be readily diagnosed during a routine ophthalmologic examination.

Cataract is treated surgically (PHACO surgery) with proper timing. PHACO surgery is an operation safely performed in the adult patients under drop-induced local anesthesia without requiring sutures. The purpose of the surgical treatment is based on the principle of removing the clouded lens from the eye and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens. Although the cataract surgery is an operation with high success rate in experienced hands, it is an intervention not to be underestimated, requiring thorough preoperative ophthalmologic examination and systemic evaluation and regular postoperative follow-up. At the present, the patients’ quality of life has become much more improved owing to the introduction of the multifocal (smart) lenses in addition to the single focal artificial lenses.

Do not forget! Cataract may be monitored under the control of the physician for a while at the very early phase of onset; however, the surgical intervention may become complicated and may lead to undesirable results in case the cataract advances and the lens hardens.

ASSOC. PROF. M. NECATİ DEMİR