AUSTIN EYE CLINIC
AUSTIN LASER AND REFRACTIVE CENTER
CATARACTS AND CATARACT SURGERY:
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WHAT IS THE “RIGHT TIME” TO HAVE CATARACT SURGERY? Cataract surgery is indicated when one’s vision is sufficiently blurry to impair one’s ability to see comfortably to perform their usual activities. Usually your ophthalmologist will try to prescribe glasses to optimize vision before proceeding with cataract surgery. The timing of cataract surgery is dependent on the patient’s decision to proceed with surgery….there is no magic time by which a cataract must be removed from the eye. In fact, if a patient is happy with his or her blurred vision, the cataract can be left alone. As the person ages, the cataract will generally progress and the lens will become cloudier, further impairing vision.
Fortunately, cataract surgery is now a routine safe outpatient procedure done routinely by Dr. Mitchel Wong and Dr. Shannon Wong. Cataract surgery is performed weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays by Dr. Mitchel Wong and Dr. Shannon Wong.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING CATARACT SURGERY? The procedure is painless and done under local eyedrop anesthesia, requiring usually between 15-20 minutes, during which time the cataract is removed from the eye with microscopic instruments in a sterile operating room. The cataract is removed from inside a clear capsular sac that holds the natural lens inside the eye. A clear intraocular lens (IOL) implant is then inserted into the capsular sac. The eye typically seals naturally after surgery without the need for stitches.
Cataract
surgery results in safe and successful outcome in approximately 98%
of eyes treated. Like any surgical procedure, there are risks. During
your visit with Dr. Mitchel Wong or Dr. Shannon Wong, the risks, benefits
and surgical alternatives will be discussed with you. Fortunately,
cataract surgery is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures
performed in the US today with 2.7 million procedures performed annually.
Usually a monofocal or fixed-focus lens implant is used during cataract surgery. With such lens implants, reading glasses and/or bifocals are usually required for achieving one’s best vision after surgery. Multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implants can also be used. The multifocal IOL is designed to provide distance and near vision simultaneously. State-of-the-art multifocal lens implants are the ReStor and ReZoom lens implants. Patients who desire clear vision near, far and in-between without after cataract surgery can choose to upgrade to one of these premium lenses.
The FDA approved Crystalens implant is an accommodating lens implant. This lens implant is unique in that it can adjust focus inside the eye to allow clear distance, intermediate and near vision WITHOUT glasses. Essentially this lens implant can allow the eye to focus far and near with high quality vision without glasses. For more information about the crystalens, goto our link: (Crystalens and other surgical options to correct presbyopia).
Cataract surgery for most of our patients is performed in at Austin Eye Laser and Surgicenter located at our 11901 Jollyville Road building. This specially designed surgical center is dedicated exclusively for eye surgery and is equipped with the most advanced cataract surgery instrumentation and equipment available. The Austin Eye Laser and Surgicenter is certified by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and Medicare.
For more information about cataracts and/or cataract surgery, please call or email the physicians on staff or attend one of our monthly seminars.