Cataract FAQ’s

A: Cataract is the clouding of the natural lens of the eye and this stops the passage of light rays into the eye.

A: No cataract is a degenerative condition and is an ageing change.

A: Since the passage of rays of light is hampered , it can cause

• Gradual painless drop in vision that is progressive and ultimately the only perception of light remains.
• Frequent change of glasses
• Glare/haloes of light making driving or crossing of roads difficult.
• Needing more light to read.

A: Ageing is the most common cause for cataract. Every single person is affected by it. But the symptoms caused may differ. Diabetes,Use of certain medications (esp.steroids),direct/indirect injury to the eye, other eye diseases like uveitis, glaucoma, high myopias etc are known to develop cataract more often.

A: Lens is crystalline and clear. Its fibers have protein. With denaturation of protein, the clarity of the fibre starts to drop and this is what is called cataract. The following factors may contribute to the development of cataract:

• Advancing age
• Excessive exposure to UV (sunlight, tanning rooms, or sunlamps) & ionizing radiation (like X-rays or cancer RT)
• Diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension or Obesity
• Active smoking
• Previous eye injury or surgery (glaucoma or vitrectomy) or inflammation
• High myopia
• Long term and high dose use of corticosteroid & statins
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Other Eye diseases like glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment, or long-term uveitis
• Genetic predisposition
• Congenital

A. The decision to get operated depends on a lot of factors, especially on the person undergoing the surgery. Factors which might aid decision making are:

• If the vision disturbance is affecting day to day activities like crossing roads, reading, driving
• General medical condition of the person which includes diabetes, blood pressure, heart problems, kidney condition etc.
• Age: cataracts could get harder with age and the recovery response of the eye gets
• A combination of the above factors has to be considered to take a decision to undergo surgery. Please consult your doctor if there are any queries.

A:Multiple factors play a role in decision making. The eye doctor will take the decision and suggest the same to you after considering multiple parameters.

• Type of cataract.
• Amount of Vision drop both quantitative and qualitative.
• Co-existing eye conditions.
• The visual needs of the patient.
• The age
• The general health including associated systemic medical conditions like Diabetes, Kidney disease, Blood pressure, Heart disease, Stroke etc and how good in control is the condition
• The mobility and dependence of the patient.

It is advisable to discuss this in detail with your doctor when taking/deferring the decision to get operated.

A. Phaco Surgery with IOLbeing  Implanted

• SICS: Small Incision Cataract Surgery: this is a manual procedure with an incision size of 5-7 mm
• Phacoemulsification: Here Ultrasound energy is used to breakdown the cataract into small pieces and emulsify (breaking into micro pieces) it and then wash and suck it out of the eye.

A: No cataract surgeries aren’t painful

A: Cataract surgeries can be done with or without injection.The injection is for anesthetizing the eye and reduce the mobility of the eye. Most cataract surgeries at Roshni are done without injection around the eye.

A: Cataract surgeries can be done with or without injection.The injection is for anesthetizing/numbing the eye and reduce the mobility of the eye. The injection is given outside the eyeball.Most cataract surgeries at Roshni are done without injection around the eye.

A: Injections may have to be given in certain conditions/situations and the decision to do so would be explained to the patient before surgery. A very hard /advanced cataract,a dislocated lens/previous injuries/affection of the eye by uveitis,a Manual Small incision cataract surgery usually requires an injection.A confident and experienced surgeon usually does not give an injection unless really required.

A: Only Anaesthetic eye drops are put in the eye before and during surgery. This only numbs the pain sensation of the eye and the patient is comfortable. This method reduces the complications of an injection around an eye and eye patching that is required after surgery for recovery from anesthesia.

It is a very safe procedure in the hands of experienced and skilled surgeons.

Surgeries at Roshni are done by this method alone except for certain rare complicated cases that requires an injection.

A:Topical Anaesthesia only numbs the pain sensation of the eye and the patient is comfortable.This method reduces the complications of an injection around an eye and eye patching that is required after surgery for recovery from anaesthesia.

It is a very safe procedure in the hands of experienced skilled and expert surgeons.

Surgeries at Roshni are mostly done by this method

A: Only Anaesthetic eye drops are put in the eye before and during surgery.This only numbs the pain sensation of the eye and the patient is comfortable.You may still be aware of what is happening around you.You will feel pressure and touch but certainly no pain.This method reduces the complications of an injection around an eye and eye patching that is required after surgery for recovery from anaesthesia.
It is a very safe procedure.
Most surgeries at Roshni are done by this method.

A: I) IOLs can be rigid (these need larger incisions) or foldable ( they require smaller incisions )

II)Monofocal: are single focus lenses  and correct either distance or near vision

Multifocal: These are lenses that correct both distance ,intermediate and near vision.

Trifocal:The intermediate distance specially used for computer usage is sharper.

EDoF: The technology used in making these lenses helps the patient see an extended range of intermediate vision,thereby adding better depth of focus.

III) Toric IOLs : these IOLs correct the preexisting Astigmatism.They are either Monofocal,Multifocal EDoFs or Trifocals.