Although cataracts can have different origins, most of them are part of aging, they produce a deterioration of vision, and consequently a loss of quality of life for those who suffer from them.
What are cataracts?
Cataracts are the opacity of the crystalline lens, the eye’s natural lens that focuses objects at different distances. This lens naturally loses its transparency and elasticity and becomes opaque over the years. At first, there is a loss of color intensity, poor night vision and a need for strong light to read. As the opacity progresses, images become more cloudy and there is a loss of visual acuity.
The age at which this ocular pathology appears is variable, usually at the age of 45 years some of the symptoms that denote lens involvement begin to appear, such as presbyopia, which is the difficulty of focusing at short distances due to the decrease in the elasticity of the lens, then the transparency will decrease leading to the appearance of cataract, being from the age of 65 years when there are many more affected by this anomaly.
Cause and symptoms of cataracts
Apart from age, there are other factors that intervene in the appearance of cataracts such as diabetes, severe eye inflammation, eye trauma, etc… Genetics is also important in the possible causes of cataracts.
The symptoms of cataracts are:
- In general, vision becomes blurred, sometimes even double vision.
- Occasionally, it may result in improved vision at certain distances due to changes in the crystalline lens.
- Discomfort on exposure to light, known as photophobia.
- There may be frequent changes in the graduation of the lenses, which the ophthalmologist may interpret as the presence of cataract.
- Difficulty driving at night.
Catalys Laser Treatment for Cataracts
Surgery is the only treatment that can be applied to cataracts. This process is quick and painless, with very high efficacy and very low risks. It involves replacing the opaque crystalline lens with an artificial intraocular lens.
The Catalys laser has shown great safety and efficacy in cataract surgery, since it detects the internal structures of the eye, performing a series of maneuvers inside the eye, which will help the surgeon to make the subsequent intervention simpler and more precise, thus simplifying the surgery and achieving greater speed and safety during the procedure.
The speed and precision of this laser allows it to work in millionths of a second, reproducing exactly the micro incisions previously designed by the surgeon with digital technology.
Interventions are totally personalized, allowing the surgeon to adapt the intervention to the patient’s ocular anatomy and ensuring the best results.
What does cataract surgery using the Catalys laser consist of?
This is a minimally invasive technique of great precision. The procedure is performed in two to three minutes, and can act at two levels:
- Cornea; making incisions through which the ophthalmologist accesses the inside of the eye, accurately determining the size and position of the incisions, so that the degree of astigmatism created is the lowest possible.
- Lens; the Catalys laser allows to know the size and position of the lens in real time, and performs in a first time on the anterior face of the same the ultra-precise carving of a circle, which perfectly delimits the portion of the anterior face of the lens that once removed, will allow access to the interior of the same to remove its opacified content.
The laser then proceeds to fragment the opacified internal contents of the lens, according to the fracture pattern chosen by the ophthalmologist, for better and safer removal, thereby reducing the amount of energy used in the subsequent cataract removal process, which in most cases will be performed with ultrasound procedures.