Cataract

The natural human lens is located behind a colored layer called the iris. It is lentil-shaped and transparent. Its task: To ensure the focus of the image on retina. If it starts to become blurred, vision is impaired as the passage of light is blocked.

The eye lens is behind the iris and pupil. Its task is to form images on the retina, which covers the inner surface of the back of the eye and is sensitive to light. If the lens becomes blurred, vision is impaired as the passage of rays is blocked.

Cataracts in old age are the most common; it can occur in people with systemic diseases such as diabetes or hypocalcemia, in people who use steroid derivative drugs, after eye injuries, and sometimes at a young age in the absence of any risk factors. Babies can be born with cataracts as a result of genetic inheritance or infections in the womb, or cataracts can develop in the first years of their lives.

Cataracts usually form slowly. There is no pain, watering or redness. Some cataracts do not reach a level where vision is severely impaired, while others prevent vision completely.

Complaints that the patient may notice can be as follows:

• There is foggy, hazy, or blurry vision, sometimes accompanied by double vision; colors may appear difficult to perceive or faded.
• The need to change lenses becomes frequent.
• Feeling as if there is a film over the eyes, or perceiving vision as if looking through a veil.
• Light sensitivity and glare in the eyes.

When should we have cataract surgery?

When the visual impairment progresses to the point that it interferes with the person's daily life, the cataract should be surgically removed. If the cataract is fully mature and becomes opaque like frosted glass, it should be treated more urgently. It is possible for a mature cataract to swell and even spread in the eye. Such changes carry the risk of permanent vision loss.

For congenital cataracts in infants and children, surgery must be performed immediately in all cases where vision is impaired.

How is cataract surgery performed?

Although different techniques can be used for cataract surgery, phacoemulsification, which is the most modern technique, is the most commonly used technique in well-equipped clinics. With this technique, which is popularly known as laser, briefly called Phaco, the lens is taken out by using 1 mm thick probes by breaking the lens inside its membrane with sound waves. An artificial lens is placed inside the lens membrane to ensure visual clarity. With this technique, the patient is operated while awake and anesthetized with a drip without the need for an injection, and the patient can return to normal life and even work the day after the operation.

BEFORE TREATMENT

Your treatments are performed by the most experienced surgeons in one of the most equipped eye clinics in Turkey.

Since each operation has different characteristics in terms of technique and experience, your surgery will be performed by our surgery teams specialized in different branches.

ONLY FDA APPROVED AMERICAN LENSES AND MULTIFOCAL LENSES ARE USED IN OUR CLINIC.

• Wear comfortable clothes on the day of the operation.
• Eat something light 1-2 hours before the operation.
• Take your regular medications at their scheduled times

DURING TREATMENT

• Your operation will be performed by anesthetizing with drops. There will be no injection.
• You will not feel any pain or ache.
• You will need to lie on your back for about 10 minutes during the operation. Inform your doctor if you have a problem that prevents you from lying on your back.
• You will be given special surgical clothes for sterility during the operation.

AFTER TREATMENT

• Your eyes will only be closed on the day of operation.
• You can return home immediately after the operation.
• Your doctor will invite you for a follow-up examination within the first 36 hours. The medicines will be used on time, and the second drop will be administered at least 5 minutes after the first drop.
• It is not appropriate to wash your face for 1 week. You can clean it by wiping.
• It is prohibited for 1 month to rub the eye, do heavy sports, lean forward with force, and contact with dust and soil.
• It is normal for your operated eye to be sensitive to light, watery, stinging and slightly red for the first few days.
• Immediately consult your doctor in case of decreased vision, increased redness, excessive watering and stinging, swelling of the eyelid, or severe pain.
• Intraocular lenses will remain in the eye for a lifetime and do not need to be changed.
• After surgery, you may need glasses with small degrees for long and short sight. At your 1-month follow-up visit, your glasses can be prescribed if necessary.

YOU MUST COME FOR A FOLLOW-UP VISIT AT THE END OF THE 1ST WEEK AND 1ST MONTH AFTER THE OPERATION.

Do not hesitate to call your doctor if you have any questions before and after the operation.