Do you or someone you love suffer from cataracts? Cataracts tend to develop very slowly. They often develop so slowly that you may be unable to tell when they start affecting your vision.
They form on the eye’s natural lens, making it grow cloudier and harder to see through. As you get older, it’s more likely you’ll develop cataracts.
Just being over 40 puts you at risk for age-related cataracts. But it can take years before you even notice symptoms.
But once your cataracts develop to the point they cause noticeable symptoms, they can significantly affect your vision, making it much harder to see. Once they get to that point, ophthalmologists and cataract surgeons recommend cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery can fully restore your vision and ability to see clearly by removing your natural lens, which also removes the cataract. The lens is then replaced with an intraocular lens, or IOL, allowing you to see clearly and, in many cases, better than ever.
After getting cataract surgery, you’ll be able to see like before you had cataracts. You may even be able to see better than ever if you get a premium IOL!
Removing your cataracts will allow you to experience Traverse City like never before. Keep reading to find out about 6 places in Traverse City that will seem brand new after cataract surgery!
1. Spend an Afternoon at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons
The renovated buildings of a former mental asylum comprise the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Stop by for some shopping by yourself or with friends and family.
You can go out and be social again after knowing you can see clearly again! Without cataracts, you can regain your autonomy and your life!
2. Take a Tour of Traverse Wine Country
Go and visit some of the many wineries in Traverse City, like 2 Lads Winery and Chateau Chantal. Your sense of taste is often better when you can see better, which is perfect if you enjoy wine-tasting! With better vision after cataract surgery, you’ll have no problem socializing with your friends.
You’ll also be able to enjoy the wineries and the scenery around them to the fullest.
3. Visit the Beach
Spend the day at Clinch Park to enjoy the beach with the family or alone. You can appreciate the atmosphere and the scenery all the more when you can see without cataracts causing frustrating glare or halos.
The best part? You’ll be able to see where you’re going when walking on the beach!
4. Stop by the Farmer’s Market
Cataracts can make the world look muddy and less colorful. But after cataract surgery, you’ll be able to see colors much more clearly again.
There’s no better place to view a spread of different colors than at a farmer’s market! Support local businesses, buy the freshest produce, and appreciate the vibrant farmer’s markets of Traverse City.
5. See Sleeping Bear Dunes
Take in even more scenery at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This national park is full of beautiful landscapes with forested islands and beaches.
Go on a long hike without experiencing eye fatigue or worrying about being unable to see where you’re going! Instead, your vision will be able to keep up with you, no matter what you want to do with your day.
6. Enjoy Some Cherries!
Traverse City is the World’s Cherry Capital, so you can’t miss a cherry-picking season! After cataract surgery this summer, you can go out and get the most out of the cherry-picking experience.
With better vision, you can easily spot all the ripest-looking cherries, so you only get the tastiest cherries to take home! Your improved vision will make it a breeze to bake a pie, make some muffins, or pop a few cherries in your mouth on a hot summer day.
Get the Best with Our Premium IOLs
If you want to get the most out of cataract surgery, you should choose a premium IOL. Standard IOLs are monofocal lenses, which can help you see either up close or far away.
With these IOLs, you’ll still need glasses to see at the opposite distance. Premium IOLs come in different varieties, often reducing or eliminating the need for other visual aids. You can achieve clear vision at almost all distances by choosing a premium IOL!
At Traverse City Eye, we offer a few premium lens options, including:
Eyhance IOL
The Eyhance IOL is a bridge between monofocal lenses and premium lenses. Some patients who get monofocals can get a lens for seeing up close and another lens in the other eye for seeing at a distance to create monovision.
Monovision allows you to see decently between two distances. But monovision doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s where the Eyhance IOL comes in.
Each Eyhance lens emulates monovision by having a gradient of different refractive powers on the lens itself so it can work for more patients. The Eyhance IOL is an excellent choice if you want to reduce your dependence on reading glasses but may not have the budget for a premium lens.
Vivity IOL
The Vivity IOL is an extended depth of focus lens. The lens is divided into different rings that switch between two refractive powers: one for seeing up close and one for far away.
Your eye automatically looks through the right ring to see whatever you’re looking at. But the Vivity IOL is even more advanced than other lenses because it’s non-diffractive.
That means the transition between the rings is smooth rather than abrupt, so light doesn’t split over the lens. Instead, it bends, giving patients better vision and fewer visual aberrations.
PanOptix Trifocal IOL
The PanOptix trifocal IOL is similar to a multifocal IOL, except it switches between three refractive powers instead of two: one for up close, one for far away, and one for an intermediate distance. This allows patients to see very well up close and at a middle distance, giving them a better range of clear vision.
Light Adjustable Lens
The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) is the only IOL tailored to your post-surgical vision. The IOL is implanted just like any other IOL, but after your eye heals from surgery, it’s adjusted with a special UV light that changes the shape of the lens. Adjusting the lens’s shape allows your ophthalmologist to customize the lens to correct your post-surgical vision.
It can be hard to decide on an IOL, but your eye doctor will help you choose the best lens for you before you get cataract surgery. They will make recommendations based on your lifestyle and visual goals after cataract surgery.
Are you ready to see Traverse City like never before? Schedule your cataract consultation today at Traverse City Eye in Traverse City, MI, now!