Secure the best cataract treatment in Yorkshire
Sight is an important contributor to the quality of our lives. Seeing well enables us to live more independently and enjoy a full range of hobbies and activities. Cataracts can blur vision or cause glare. They are caused by opacification of the lens inside the eye.
Modern cataract surgery helps to make your sight clearer. This operation also minimises your dependence on glasses after surgery. In expert hands, small incisions and lenses specifically designed for each individual eye are used. This way, one can achieve the desired visual outcomes with a high level of predictability.
Some of my patients have worn thick glasses for almost all of their lives and their transformation is remarkable. This is one of the most satisfying aspects of my professional life.
Successful cataract and lens surgery demands exquisite attention to detail. The diagram to your right displays some of the main stages.
- Small incisions are made into the eye. The outer lens capsule is opened and the natural lens is removed.
- A foldable, artificial lens is inserted.
- The wounds are sealed and an antibiotic is placed in the eye.
What To Expect On The Day Of Your Procedure
Trifocal Lenses For A Fuller Range Of Vision
This is an alternative to laser eye surgery. It is ideal for people over 50 with short and long-sightedness. Especially those who want to reduce their dependence on glasses or contact lenses. Custom made lenses are available if you have astigmatism. Patients with cataracts as well as those without cataracts can benefit from these trifocal lenses.
Trifocal lenses by Zeiss (AT LISAtri 839MP) are an excellent option for patients who want a complete range of focus after cataract or lens replacement surgery. To understand how these lenses work, it is important to understand how the change of focus. Specifically, from close-up to distance and back again, as it occurs in a youthful eye.
It’s important to understand that the fantastic natural design of a youthful lens can seamlessly transition from distance to near. It cannot be perfectly replicated even with the most advanced lenses. However, the trifocal lens comes close to replicating this natural phenomenon. The lens works by splitting the light entering the eye into separate points of focus. Most of the light, approximately 60%, is focused for the distance. While the remainder focuses at close (at 40cm) and intermediate (80cm) vision.
What To Expect: After Surgery
It is expected that immediately after surgery you will notice a significant improvement in vision. This is just the beginning.
It is normal that patients with multifocal IOLs go through an adaptation phase, continuing to improve in the weeks following the procedure. It could take several weeks to realise the full extent of visual correction.
Multifocal IOLs project multiple images on the retina, which your brain uses for viewing objects at different distances. The brain must learn to select the visual information it needs to form an image of near, distant or intermediate objects.This adjustment time will vary for each patient.
With all multifocal IOLs, it is normal after surgery to experience some common visual disturbances. These may be more evident under poor light conditions, such as driving at night. Rings of light, commonly called ‘halos’, may appear around street lights or oncoming car headlights. As the brain adapts, these effects will diminish and become less bothersome. A positive attitude and the awareness that your vision will improve will help you adapt much faster.
If you have cataracts in both eyes, your doctor will typically schedule a second surgery in the near future. You will adjust better to your multifocal intraocular lenses when they are placed in both eyes.
For most patients, the desire for a life without glasses becomes a reality. However, even with an optimal surgical outcome, it may be necessary to use glasses for some activities such as reading or computer work, some of the time. This is a possible trade-off for the increased independence from glasses you can expect; and for many patients, the possibility of freedom from glasses that will last a lifetime.
No, but you can develop a thickening or clouding of the posterior capsule membrane behind your new lens implant in the months or years following your surgery.
This occurs in approximately one in 10 cataract surgery patients and is called posterior capsular opacification and causes blurring of vision.
This can be treated with an outpatient laser procedure, known as YAG laser capsulotomy. It is usually very effective, painless and quick. The risks of YAG laser treatment are much smaller than the risks of the original cataract procedure and will be detailed at your consultation.
Technical Aspects
Choosing exactly what you would like to achieve with cataract or eye lens replacement surgery is often a tricky task. It can include a lot of technical jargon; including monovision, presbyopia, trifocal lenses, toric lenses, limbal relaxing incisions etc.
One of the purposes of your consultation is to help you understand your options better prior to making a decision. The video summarizes the main aspects.