What Happens When Cataracts Occur In Surgery

Cataracts occur when the lens becomes blurry, causing vision to be hazy and distorted. The lens is between the lens and pupil and refracts light that comes into the eye, which helps us to see and focus on objects. Those who experience cataracts, feel like they are looking through a foggy window. There are four main types of cataracts, traumatic cataracts, congenital cataracts, secondary cataracts, and radiation cataracts. Traumatic cataracts can occur from ocular injury, which will disrupts lens fibers. Congenital cataracts are when a baby is born with cataracts or develop them in young age. Typically the do not interfere with vision. Secondary cataracts occur after a surgery or due to a prior health condition. Radiation cataracts form after …show more content…
An vision acuity exam will help doctors decide if you have a visual impairment. A slit-lamp examination can also diagnose cataracts by examining the structure of the eye. A microscope which has a strong line of light will brighten the cornea, lens and iris and the spaces between. The beam of light with allow doctors to microscopically exam the eyes for any irregularities common with cataracts like cloudiness. A retinal exam can also determine if they are any signs of cataracts. During this exam, the pupils are dilated, then a opthalmoscope can be used to examine the …show more content…
However, vision aids like eyeglasses and contacts are an easy solution to deal with cataracts, unless cataracts impair your vision significantly. Phacoemulsification is the most common form of cataract surgery. During this surgery an incision is made in the surface of the eye, which is near the cornea. Then an ultrasound probe creates ultrasonic vibrations to disperse the cloudy lens and an artificial lens is placed to help the eye to focus. This procedure takes less than 30 minutes and no stitches or eye patch are needed. Extracapsular cataract surgery is another type of procedure used if the cataracts progression significantly, in which phacoemulsification can be used. During this procedure a larger incision is made to remove the cataract in a single piece. Similar to phacoemulsification, a artificial len is placed. This procedure has many sutures to close the incision and will have a longer recovery time. Medication for numbing and an eye patch are required. Intracapsular cataract surgery involves an even larger incision in which the entire lens is removed. An intraocular lens is placed on the iris. This procedure is not as common. Those with other eye disease tend to have more complications after surgery. The risks are very low and fewer than 10 out of 100 have complications. Bleeding in front the the eye known as hyphema, infection of the eye known as endophthalmitis, and swelling in the