A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens. Located just behind the iris, the natural lens helps to focus light on the back of the retina, which then sends the images to the brain. When the lens is cloudy, light and images can be prevented from effectively reaching the retina, resulting in decreased visual acuity.
Is a cataract causing problems for your vision?
Symptoms of a cataract include:
- Decreasing vision with age
- Blurred or double vision
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Seeing halos around bright lights
- Vision that gets worse in sunlight
- Poor depth perception
- Difficulty distinguishing colors
- Frequent changes to prescription glasses or contacts
- Difficulty reading
These symptoms might also be a sign of other eye conditions. If you have been diagnosed with cataracts or are struggling with cloudy vision in one or both eyes, you’re certainly not alone. Most cataracts are age-related, typically beginning to form around the age of 55. In fact, by age 65, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. Like many other conditions that were once just accepted as part of getting older, the loss of vision due to cataracts can now be successfully corrected in most cases. Cataract surgery is now one of the most effective and common operations performed today. During the procedure, the surgeon removes the clouded lens and replaces it with a clear intraocular lens. About 90 percent of patients experience an improvement in their vision as a result of the surgery.
Though cataracts begin to form around the age of 55, they have been found in much younger patients. It can take many years before you notice any symptoms, but your vision continues to worsen over time as the cataract grows. No one really knows why cataracts form, but they are extremely common and should be examined by your eye care professional.
All of the warning signs listed above can indicate other eye problems as well, so they should be evaluated by an eye care professional.
Utilizing our state-of-the-art facilities at the Eye Surgery Center of East Tennessee, cataract surgery:
- Is performed without needles; anesthesia is applied topically with eye drops.
- Requires no stitches; the doctor makes an incision in the cornea that seals naturally.
- Can improve vision by reducing astigmatism.
How are cataracts treated?
Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed medical procedures. In fact, over 18 million cataract procedures are performed worldwide every year, including the thousands performed at Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun in East Tennessee.
Cataract microsurgery is performed as an outpatient procedure at Eye Surgery Center of East Tennessee.
Numerous advancements in cataract surgery allow physicians to perform the procedure with little discomfort. During cataract surgery, our board-certified Ophthalmologists remove the affected natural lens of the eye and gently implant a replacement lens, or Intraocular Lens (IOL). This restores the eye’s ability to let light pass through unobstructed to the retina. The procedure itself takes only a few minutes in most cases and requires no stitches.
Cataract surgery is performed on one eye per surgery visit, usually spaced a week or two apart. The majority of patients return home the same day and can resume normal daily activities within a day or two.
Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun offer the most recent advancements in replacement lens technology. Today, replacement lenses can help cataract patients achieve freedom from glasses and contacts for vision at distances intermediate, far and near, including readers’ vision. Click here for replacement lens information and options available to you, or schedule an appointment with Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun.
People Over The Age Of 50 Should See An Eye Care Professional Every Year.
Schedule your appointment today by calling (865) 584-0905. Your Knoxville cataract surgeons Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor and Haun are standing by ready to offer personal care and state-of-the-art technology with convenient offices in Knoxville, Farragut, Hardin Valley, Maryville, Oak Ridge and Sevierville.