Cataract
Are you experiencing blurry vision or glare from cataracts?
Our knowledgeable and talented cataract surgeons at Traverse City Eye can help restore your vision through cataract surgery.
What is a Cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. Cataracts form naturally over time as the lens inside your eye matures and loses its flexibility.
Symptoms of cataracts include glare, starbursts or halos around lights, difficulty driving in at night or in the rain, and blurry vision that affects daily activities and reading. The only treatment for cataracts is cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery involves your cataract surgeon removing your natural lens and replacing it with a new artificial lens, called an intraocular lens.
What is an IOL?
An IOL, or intraocular lens, is an artificial lens that your cataract surgeon will use to replace your natural lens where a cataract has formed. The IOLs bend the light that enters your eye to fall directly on the retina, allowing for crisp and clear vision
Your refractive error, like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, is what causes the light to fall in the incorrect place, resulting in blurry vision. Not only do IOLs improve the glare and hazy vision you experience with a cataract, but they also can correct your natural refractive error.
Some IOL options may require you to wear glasses for certain activities after the procedure. However, if reducing your dependency on glasses is a priority for you, there are options to make that possible.
The cataract surgeons at Traverse City Eye offer many IOL options to choose from. Your eye doctor will help you determine the best option based on your lifestyle and vision goals.
Symptoms of Cataracts
Cataract Self-Test
Take our cataract self-test to see if you are a good candidate for cataract surgery.
Take Cataract Self-TestWhat IOLs Do Traverse City Eye Offer?
The PanOptix trifocal lens is the first and only trifocal lens. Because it is a trifocal lens, you can see clearly up close, far away, and in between without gaps in your vision. You will have sharp vision at a distance, intermediate range when you’re looking at a computer, and near for reading.
Many people choose premium lenses like the PanOptix trifocal IOL to significantly reduce their dependence on glasses. Since the lens allows for improved vision at all distances, you are a lot less likely to need reading glasses after the procedure.
The PanOptix trifocal IOL provides extra benefits as it reduces glare and provides you with sharper vision. Many people also experience brighter colors and less blurry zones so you can see without straining to focus.
With the PanOptix lens, you may still need to wear glasses for certain activities, but the benefit of this lens is that you will be able to perform most daily activities without them.
The Acrysof IQ Vivity lens is an extended depth of focus lens. It is the first non-diffractive EDOF lens of its kind, meaning you will experience optimal vision in both bright and dim lighting.
The Vivity IOL is a revolutionary premium lens that will provide you with clear and crisp distance vision, and it will also offer improved intermediate and near vision.
Standard IOLs improve your vision at one distance. The benefit of the Vivity lens is that you will have better intermediate and near vision for activities like computer work and reading while also experiencing excellent distance vision.
The Vivity IOL uses a new technology called X-Wave. X-Wave technology allows you to experience less glare, starbursts, and haloes around lights.
Diffractive multifocal lenses split the wavefront into many different focal points. Having several focal points can cause visual disturbances like glare.
The Vivity IOL performs more like a monofocal IOL by reducing these unwanted visual symptoms using X-Wave technology. The Vivity lens also has a toric model, specifically correcting astigmatism.
If your eye doctor determines that your amount of astigmatism would benefit from a toric lens, they might recommend this option to you. The Vivity IOL can give you crisp, clear vision when looking at things far away while reducing your dependence on glasses without compromising your ability to see well up close.
The Eyhance IOL is a specially designed premium monofocal lens. The Eyhance IOL is a next-generation IOL that can provide crisp distance vision and improved intermediate vision.
Most monofocal lenses provide clear vision at one range of focus. The Eyhance IOL is unique because although it gives you clear vision at a distance, it will also improve your middle or intermediate vision.
The lens is set to correct for one range of vision on the edge of the lens and then transitions to correct for a different range of vision in the middle of the lens. Another benefit of the Eyhance IOL is that it reduces visual disturbances such as halos, glare, and starbursts around light sources.
The Eyhance IOL can give you lifestyle flexibility. Its unique ability to provide excellent distance vision while also improving intermediate vision can make it easier for you to perform certain activities that require intermediate vision.
With the Eyhance IOL, you can see images crisp and clear when you look at things far away. You’ll also be able to see well enough when performing tasks at an arm’s length away, like cooking, sewing, or reading a book.
The Light adjustable lens is one of the newest advancements in IOL technology. The light adjustable lens uses a unique lens material that allows your eye doctor to optimize your vision after having cataract surgery.
Once your eye has healed from the procedure, you will return to your eye doctor’s office, and they will test your vision. At this visit, you will be able to preview possible vision outcomes and compare your options to determine what best fits your lifestyle.
The benefit of having a light adjustable lens is that it allows you to preview these options before determining your vision outcome. With other IOLs, you cannot customize your vision after cataract surgery.
To modify your lens power to allow for your desired vision, your eye doctor will perform a series of quick light treatment procedures in-office. During these light treatments, the lens material inside your new lens is reshaped.
The reshaping of the lens corrects your vision to match your custom prescription. Once you get to your desired visual outcome, you’ll have permanently improved vision that lets you see in a way that best fits your lifestyle and hobbies.
It may take several light treatment procedures to reach your visual goals. The light adjustable lens is an attractive option due to its ability to provide you with better vision.
What Happens During Cataract Surgery?
On the day of your cataract surgery, you will need a friend or family member to drive you home after the procedure. You will need to arrive at least an hour before your procedure so that your cataract surgeon can prepare you for the cataract surgery.
Before cataract surgery begins, your cataract surgeon will use drops to numb your eye. Then, they will make a tiny opening in your cornea. Your cataract surgeon will then use the most advanced tools and instruments to break up the cataract into smaller pieces. After removing the tiny cataract pieces from your eye, your cataract surgeon will replace your natural lens with an artificial lens. After removing the natural lens, they will replace it with an artificial lens, known as an intraocular lens (IOL). The IOL will allow you to see clearly once more and take over the job that your natural lens once had. The small opening will then close naturally without the need for sutures. You will be able to go home the same day and experience improved vision in the coming days.
What is Recovery Like After Cataract Surgery?
Your eye doctor will require you to come back to the office for check-up visits in the days, weeks, and months following your procedure. At these appointments, your eye doctor will ensure that your eye is healing well and test your vision to see the procedure’s outcome.
It can take a few days to a few weeks for your vision to reach its full potential. Your eyes may need an adjustment period to get used to the new IOL.
If you have cataracts in both eyes, your eye doctor will usually perform cataract surgery on each eye separately. These procedures are typically completed a few weeks apart after the first eye has completed healing.
You will also be required to follow a list of instructions to help aid in your recovery. Your eye doctor may require you to avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting for at least a week after the procedure while your eye heals.
Your eye doctor may also require you to use medicated eye drops to avoid any complications in the healing process. It is important that you follow this regimen precisely and not miss any doses.
Are you interested in learning more about cataract surgery? Schedule a cataract consultation at Traverse City Eye in Traverse City, MI, today!