Cataract

There are two types of cataracts:

• Age related cataracts - they appear later in life;the most common form.
• Congenital cataracts (childhood cataracts) - these may be present when the baby is born, or shortly after birth. Cataracts may also be diagnosed in older babies and children - these are sometimes referred to as developmental, infantile or juvenile cataracts.

A patient with cataracts will eventually find it hard to read, or drive a car - especially during the night. Even seeing people's facial expressions becomes difficult. Cataracts are not usually painful. The patient's long-distance vision is more severely affected at first. 

Treatment for cataracts

If the patient is found to be only mildly affected surgical treatment may not be needed. During its early stages, stronger glasses and brighter lights may help improve vision. The cloudy lens is removed from the eye and an artificial clear plastic one is put in its place - an intraocular implant (intraocular lens). At our centre we perform cataract operations without any injection, no bandage, no stitch, day care surgery. Cataract operations are performed as keyhole surgery. The surgery will be done under topical anesthesia. The operation is commonly known as phacoemulsification or phaco extracapsular extraction. Laser surgery is not used for cataract procedures.

Various types of replacement lenses may be used:

• Monofocal lens - this is a fixed-strength lens which is set for one level of vision - usually distance vision. There are various forms of monofocal lens design
  • Spherical lens - biconvex lens
  • Aspheric design - it corrects peripheral spherical abberations
  • 360 degree square edge - this helps to reduce posterior capsular opacification (PCO)
  
  
  • Hydrophilic lens - on these lenses deposits can occur on the surface in case of any ocular inflammation
  • Hydrophobic lens - these lenses repel any deposits on the surface
  
  
  • 3-piece lens- Optic and haptic are made up of different material
  • Single-piece lens- Optic and haptic are made up of same material
  • Yellow lens- these lenses block blue rays
  

  3-piece IOL, Single piece IOL, Blue filter IOL

  
  
• Toric lens - this type of lens corrects both the spherical and cylindrical aspects of distant vision
  

  Toric IOL

  
  
• Multifocal lens - this type of lens may have two or more different strengths;near and distance vision
  

  Multifocal IOL

  

  Multifocal IOL

  
  

Which is the best IOL?
Hydrophobic monofocal IOL with aspheric design with 360 degree square edge

Implantable Collamer Lens

Implantable collamer lens or ICL, called by its manufacturer Visian ICL, is a soft, flexible gel-lens used in refractive surgeries for the permanent correction of myopia (nearsightedness), made of a collagen copolymer material, named by combining "collagen"and "polymer". The ICL procedure is a popular alternative to LASIK  and PRK since it requires no removal of the corneal tissue and reportedly produces better visual results

The ICL procedure is a type of refractive surgery performed by an ophthalmologists in which the ICL is surgically implanted inside the eye, where it resides permanently. The ICL requires no maintenance after the procedure and functions very similarly to contact lenses in improving visual acuity. For most patients, ICL provides permanent freedom from eyeglasses or contact lenses

LASIK

LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The LASIK surgery is performed by an ophthalmologist who uses a laser or microkeratome to reshape the eye's cornea in order to improve visual acuity. For most patients, LASIK provides a permanent alternative to eyeglasses or contact lenses. Major side effects include halos, starbursts, night-driving problems, keratoconus (corneal ectasia), and eye dryness.

LASIK is most similar to another surgical corrective procedure, photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and both represent advances over radial keratotomy in the surgical treatment of refractive errors of vision. For patients with moderate to high myopia or thin corneas which cannot be treated with LASIK and PRK, the phakic intraocular lens is an alternative.