Cataract Surgery (Standard)
In this photo, I am operating on a fully developed cataract. As I remove the white pieces of cataract, the red reflex becomes visible. This is the light reflected from the retina that can cause ‘red eye’ with flash photography.
What is a cataract?
In order to see, your eye needs a lens to focus the light entering the eye onto the retina. The clarity of this lens is important for good vision and a cataract refers to any clouding or opacity of this lens.
The most common cause for this clouding is ageing of the lens. Everyone will develop cataracts at some point in their life. Some conditions such as diabetes may accelerate the development of the cataract.
What are the symptoms of a cataract?
The symptoms that you experience depend on the severity of your cataracts. Very early cataract may not cause any symptoms apart from changing the focus of your eyes: you may become less reliant on reading glasses or your glasses prescription may change.
As the cataract worsens, the quality of your vision may deteriorate. People complain of blurring, haloes or glare from bright light at nights or colours lose their brightness. If left to develop, a severe cataract can severely limit your vision.
How do you treat cataracts?
Cataracts can only be treated with surgery and this is recommended when any deterioration in vision begins to affect your quality of life.
What does cataract surgery involve?
In cataract surgery, the cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with a clear lens implant. I perform the majority of these operations in under 15 minutes as a daycase procedure, allowing patients to go home on the same day.
I use minimally invasive techniques that requires incisions of less than 3 millimetres. This is done using local anaesthetic. Some patients may prefer general anaesthetic.
Different types of lens implants can be used to decrease your dependence on glasses. Standard lens implants offer clear vision at a specified distance, requiring glasses to be used for activities that require a different range of vision. For example, some people are happy to have good distance vision and require reading glasses.
Other people prefer not to rely on glasses after cataract surgery and I use special implants to achieve this. These include multifocal, enhanced depth of focus (or EDOF) and toric lens implants.
Everyone is different and one type of implant may suit your lifestyle more than another, as each type of implant has its own advantages and drawbacks. I will discuss the various options with you at your consultation, as well as the benefits and risks of cataract surgery.
Where will I have my cataract surgery?
I perform cataract surgery at the Nuffield Bristol Hospital.
How long is the recovery after cataract surgery?
Most patients notice an improvement in their vision a few days after their surgery. Most people can resume their normal activities within a week, although some activities should be avoided for a longer period.