Choose the content to read

• After cataract removal, what’s next?
• Does one artificial lens fit all, or not?
• If I do not feel at ease with early-stage cataract surgery, would it be better to wait until the cataract fully matures?

Is it true that I should wait until the cataract becomes ripe or cloudy before surgery?

This concept is no longer true. It takes quite some time for cataracts to appear cloudy or ripe. In the meantime, the cataract increasingly hampers our vision day by day. Continuous advancement in cataract surgery technology enables the ophthalmologist to care for this eye problem. Even at the early stages of cataracts, surgery can be easily performed. The cataract surgery has become a quick day care procedure and provides fast vision recovery. There are fewer postoperative restrictions than in the old days; you can even resume using your eye sight in just a few hours postoperatively after returning home.

After cataract removal, what’s next?

After your cloudy lens is emulsified and removed, a transparent and thinner artificial lens will be implanted in place of the removed natural cloudy lens. You will be able to see things better with brighter vision.

Does one artificial lens fit all, or not?

No, it does not. Thanks to present-day technology, there are many types of intraocular lens (IOL) from which you can select to best suit your individual visual need or lifestyle. The implanted IOL will be a part of your eye for good. However, certain eye problems may limit your options of this artificial lens because the technology of the IOL design is still unable to replicate all aspects of natural human eye. Before the implant, a thorough eye examination will be performed with various eye instruments to evaluate your eye structure, baseline eye condition and to detect whether you have eye disorders which may influence the cataract surgery visual results, particularly in patients who had LASIK or refractive corneal surgery in the past. The ophthalmologist will have a discussion with you as to which type of intraocular lens is most appropriate for your vision utilization pattern. The power of the IOL to be implanted will then be attentively calculated for the most appropriate post-operative visual need.

If I do not feel at ease with early-stage cataract surgery, would it be better to wait until the cataract fully matures?

Waiting for cataracts to mature or ripen to the point that the lens is cloudy white can lead to other ocular complications and increase operative difficulties. As a result, your vision may not get satisfactorily improved after the operation due to those preexisting complications. Taking all factors into account, it is better to do the cataract surgery before maturity sets in.

Article by
Assoc. Prof. Dr Visanee Tantisevi

Ophthalmologist
Doctor profile