1 Cataract Surgery Hospitals In Columbus, Ohio

Cataract Surgery (click for worldwide facilities list): A cataract is a clouding of the lens in your eye. It affects your vision. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all people in the United States either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. Cataracts usually develop slowly. New glasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses or magnifying lenses can help at first. Surgery is also an option. It involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. Wearing sunglasses and a hat with a brim to block ultraviolet sunlight may help to delay cataracts. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other.

Although most cataracts are related to aging, there are other types of cataracts:
Secondary cataract:
Cataracts can form after surgery for other eye problems, such as glaucoma. Cataracts also can develop in people who have other health problems, such as diabetes. Cataracts are sometimes linked to steroid use.

Traumatic cataract:
Cataracts can develop after an eye injury, sometimes years later.

Congenital cataract:
Some babies are born with cataracts or develop them in childhood, often in both eyes. These cataracts may be so small that they do not affect vision. If they do, the lenses may need to be removed.

Radiation cataract:
Cataracts can develop after exposure to some types of radiation.

Cataracts are detected through a comprehensive eye exam that includes a visual acuity test, a dilated eye exam, and a tonometry test, measuring the pressure inside the eye.

A cataract needs to be removed only when vision loss interferes with your everyday activities. Sometimes a cataract should be removed even if it does not cause problems with your vision. For example, a cataract should be removed if it prevents examination or treatment of another eye problem, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy.

There are two types of cataract surgery:

The most common is Phacoemulsification, (phaco), also called small incision cataract surgery. A small incision is made on the side of the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. Your doctor inserts a tiny probe into the eye. This device emits ultrasound waves that soften and break up the lens so that it can be removed by suction.

Extracapsular surgery requires a longer incision on the side of the cornea allowing the removal of the cloudy core of the lens in one piece. The rest of the lens is removed by suction.

After the natural lens has been removed, it often is replaced by an artificial lens, called an intraocular lens (IOL). An IOL is a clear, plastic lens that requires no care and becomes a permanent part of your eye. Light is focused clearly by the IOL onto the retina, improving your vision. Some people cannot have an IOL. They may have another eye disease or have problems during surgery. For these patients, a soft contact lens, or glasses that provide high magnification, may be suggested.

http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/cataract/cataract_facts.asp