In the practice we see younger and younger patients who have already developed cataract. Generally, they appear after the age of 65, however, there is an increase in patients in their 50s who are already beginning to show the first signs of cataract, such as discomfort in the light, loss of color sharpness or vision of reflections with lights. This produces alterations in their vision that affect their work and personal life.
Why does cataract originate in the eye?
In the eye there is a structure called crystalline lens, which is responsible for focusing images on the retina. Under normal conditions, this crystalline lens is transparent. Over the years this structure becomes opaque and this is what we call cataract.
In addition to aging, there are other causes that can lead to cataract development in non-elderly people, such as diabetes, corticosteroid-based treatments, congenital cataracts or exposure to solar radiation.
Increase in cataract surgeries in younger patients
In the past, it was considered necessary to wait until the patient’s vision was completely lost before proceeding with cataract surgery. Nowadays, technological advances and the patient’s demand for optimal quality of vision in his or her life have brought forward the moment of surgery and it is performed almost as soon as it is diagnosed.
Moreover, it is preferable to operate on the cataract when it is still soft. For all these reasons, the number of cataract surgeries in young people has increased.
The ORA system is integrated into the Intelligent Operating Room for cataract surgery.
The arrival of the Femtofaco laser in cataract surgery was a revolution. This allows specialists in Ophthalmology to perform a microincision of between 1 and 2 mm to implant the intraocular lens, which not only eliminates the cataract but also corrects the patient’s refractive defects in the same surgery.
In Eurocanarias Oftalmológica we also have the Intelligent Operating Room. An advanced system that integrates technology during the planning and guiding of the surgery to obtain the best results after the operation.
This technology has been completed with an equipment called ORA. It is an intraoperative aberrometer that performs a graduation during surgery to confirm that the lens we plan to implant is really the right one to achieve the best visual results, with special relevance in case the patient has astigmatism or has previously undergone refractive surgery. This system improves the results.