Cataract presents as an opacity of the eye's natural lens. Like a camera, the normal eye has a clear lens that focuses images at the back of the eye. While the camera focuses the image on film, the eye focuses the image on the retina.
If the lens is cloudy, the image on the retina is not clear and vision becomes blurred. There are currently limited medical treatments for cataracts. Upgrading the glasses and increasing the light in the environment can improve vision to some extent, but the cataract will worsen over time. Cataract surgery is the only way to restore vision. That is why cataract surgery is considered standard in the elderly.
It is a common outpatient surgical procedure performed by an ophthalmologist. The cataract is removed by making a small incision in the cornea, using ultrasound energy to break up and remove the cataract. An artificial intraocular lens is then implanted in the eye to replace the human lens. The small incision created usually does not require stitches.
This lens is necessary to help direct incoming light into the eye, allowing the patient to regain their vision. Traditionally, cataract patients received single vision lens implants that had only one power. This meant that he had the option of correcting distance or near vision. But if they suffered from presbyopia like many people over the age of 40, this meant that they still needed glasses to read or to see far away.
Over the last 10 years, the FDA and European authorities have approved several lifestyle intraocular lens implants for use by certified ophthalmologists. These lenses can increase the patient's chances of having a life free of dependency on glasses or contact lenses after cataract surgery for near, distance and intermediate vision.
El Dr. Jose Alberto Muiños, director of Innova Ocular Muiños Clinic In this video, he explains to us what it consists of, how are the intraocular lenses that are implanted and how is the recovery from the cataract operation.