Cataracts are opacities of the crystalline lens and the main symptom is a decrease in visual acuity, which is often associated with photophobia and glare from lights. The person suffering from cataracts may show a whitish pupil, although not always, since at other times they may adopt a caramel color.
Cataracts cannot really be prevented, since they appear spontaneously and are related to age, just like gray hair and wrinkles. Sometimes they are caused by trauma, sometimes by some systemic diseases, or by treatment with certain drugs. There are also congenital cataracts, present at birth, or which develop shortly after birth.
Therefore, the ideal would be to operate cataracts as soon as possible, although experts in Ophthalmology recommend cataract patients not to rush, since as long as the patient has a good visual acuity, it is possible to wait. We must not forget that, as in all surgeries, complications can occur.
Placement process, risks and results of intraocular lenses
The only effective treatment for cataracts is surgery. It has been done for many years, but in recent times it has undergone a truly spectacular improvement, thanks to the advent of intraocular lenses, which allow good postoperative vision without the need to wear glasses. These are lenses that are implanted inside the eye (remaining there for life) and even allow good vision without glasses, both near and far.
In the past, these lenses were not used, and patients were forced to wear very thick glasses, which greatly limited their visual field and the performance of many activities.
The placement of intraocular lenses is not really complicated for an experienced surgeon, but it must be said that it is a delicate surgery that requires special care, as well as taking into account a number of factors, since possible complications can be serious.
We can say that cataract surgery takes longer in the preparations than in the surgery itself, and it is usually between 15-20 minutes, depending among other things on the characteristics of the cataracts. Less dense and less evolved cataracts are easier to remove, so the surgery is quicker. Cataracts that have been there for a long time, besides being denser, are also harder, and result in a more laborious and therefore longer surgery.
The results of this surgery are permanent, since the cataracts have already been removed and they do not reproduce. But what can happen is that the lens capsule, which forms the sac where the intraocular lens is inserted, becomes opacified with the passage of time, which would result in a visual decrease. The solution for this contingency is simple, breaking the capsule with laser, the transparency is perfectly restored, and the patient can see perfectly again.