Second Sight
After cataract surgery, some
patients are able to watch TV or read the newspaper the same day. |
Poor vision caused by cataracts used to be one of the scourges of
getting older-nearly as unavoidable as wrinkles and a lot more
debilitating.
Today, though, cataract surgery has made it possible for seniors to
see as well as they did at 16-and in some cases, even better.
The eye's lens lies behind the iris and focuses light onto the
retina. As we age, protein in the lens clumps together, making the
lens cloudy. Though 73 percent of people 64 to 74 years old have
cataracts, many experience no difficulty with their vision. When
cataracts become large enough to cause blurring, double vision or
other symptoms that interfere with normal activities, surgery is
recommended, says William Tsiaris, MD, chair of the department of
ophthalmology at Rhode Island Hospital.
What to expect during surgery
In most cases, the patient receives a local anesthetic, a tiny
incision is made in the eye and the cloudy lens is removed and replaced
with a substitute that 90 percent of the time gives people 20/40
vision or better. "The surgery is performed as a same-day procedure
with the patient going home within a few hours," says Tsiaris.
"The day after surgery, patients place drops in the operated
eye, continuing for several days to three or four weeks," Tsiaris
says. "There is usually no discomfort."
One eye at a time
Even when people have cataracts in both eyes, the operation is
performed only on one eye at a time. After surgery, some prefer
to wear a patch for the remainder of the day. Others may want to
take advantage of the whole new world that's opened up-taking a
walk amid the autumn foliage, reading the newspaper or watching
television. Because recovery time is brief, the results so dramatic
and the success rate high, some people may want surgery even when
their vision is only slightly impaired. Tsiaris warns that "patients
should take this surgery very seriously-the presence of cataracts
is not indication enough to have the operation."
But for those who've watched the world grow blurry as they've grown
older, and especially those who've also spent a lifetime with glasses
or contact lenses, it's exhilarating, liberating and confidence
boosting to get a new lease on sight, to be able to say, "I
can see clearly now."
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