Cataracts are an eye condition that occurs in the crystalline lens, which is the natural lens located inside the eye, allowing us to focus on near and far objects.
Naturally, as a result of aging, the lens becomes opaque and loses its transparency. This causes images to appear cloudy and, as cataracts progress, the patient loses visual acuity.
What symptoms can alert us to cataracts?
There are certain factors and situations that can especially bother the patient if he/she suffers from cataracts. Some of them are glare from sunlight, lamps or car headlights at night. In addition, blurred vision at a distance, together with the fact of “not recognizing people’s faces”, are the most frequent symptoms. In some cases, cataracts improve near vision, but to the detriment of distance vision.
Cataract treatment
Cataract surgery is currently the treatment of choice. It is a quick and painless process, very effective and with few risks for the patient. The operation consists of removing the contents of the crystalline lens that has become opaque by means of ultrasound, replacing it with an intraocular lens customized to each patient’s case. It is a procedure that allows to recover normal vision and even better than the one the patient had enjoyed for a long time.
Intraocular lenses are evolving, both in their design and in the materials they are made of. The choice of one type of lens or another will be determined by the specialist in Ophthalmology, based on the expectations of each person and their anatomical-functional conditions. At present there are different types:
- Monofocal intraocular lenses: correct distance vision but the patient will still need near glasses.
- Multifocal intraocular lenses: they can remove the patient’s dependence on distance and near glasses. Relatively recently, trifocal intraocular lenses have also appeared, allowing near, medium and far vision.
Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery is a painless, safe and fast treatment, which is applied during three phases of the procedure:
- To create the entry pathways through the cornea, for the use of the instruments.
- For the circular opening of the lens capsule or capsulorhexis.
- To divide the contents of the cataract into small fragments to facilitate the use of ultrasound.
This does not eliminate the use of ultrasound to remove the cataract, but it does reduce the energy required to apply, which allows faster recovery of vision. These maneuvers, assisted by laser, allow great precision and safety, even more than can be achieved with the hands of the best surgeons.
Can cataracts be prevented?
For incipient cataracts, palliative measures can be taken, such as the use of sunglasses to avoid glare, or prescription glasses if there has been any change in refraction. However, despite research efforts, the definitive treatment of cataracts is still surgical. There is no drug treatment that definitively cures age-related cataracts.