Cataract Center

Cataract Surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in the United States. Each year millions of individuals undergo surgery and are amazed by the improved quality of their vision as well as the rapid recovery time.

At Silk Vision and Surgery Center we take great pride at providing the latest surgical advances in cataract surgery. We also make sure that each patient is comfortable from the beginning of their initial consultation to the completion of their visual recovery.

Understanding The Eye


In order to understand more about cataracts and lens implants, it is important to first begin by understanding how your eye works.

In the normal eye there are two structures that are mainly responsible for refracting, or bending light so that it focuses properly on the retina. The first structure is the outermost layer called the cornea. The second is the crystalline lens, which is located behind the colored part of the eye, or the iris. Both the cornea and the lens must be perfectly clear if your vision is to be crisp and clear. While the cornea maintains its clarity throughout life the lens may undergo a number of changes as you age.


Presbyopia

One of the earliest changes that you will experience occurs when the lens loses its flexibility. Up until the age of approximately 40, the lens is "crystal" clear, quite soft, and flexible. This flexibility permits the lens to change its shape and alter its curvature so that it can help focus your vision at various distances-from far, to near, to arms length, to far or near again. Having this flexibility allows the ability to see things at all distances. Around the time we enter our 40’s, the lens begins to stiffen, which makes it progressively more difficult to change focus and see clearly at all distances. Usually this lessens our ability to easily see objects at arms length or close objects or reading material. When this loss of flexibility occurs, it is called presbyopia.

Premium Lens Implants for Correcting Presbyopia

Presently there are two types of intraocular lens implants: a monofocal lens and a multifocal lens. A monofocal lens implant provides excellent vision after cataract surgery, for one set distance only — usually for seeing things at a distance and thus does not correct presbyopia, meaning it does not enable you to see close objects or read without reading glasses or bifocals. For seeing at a distance, such as driving, going to a movie or going to a ball game, a monofocal lens implant will provide the vision you need to see clearly. With a monofocal lens implant you will most likely need to wear eyeglasses for any type of near vision activities, such as reading, sewing, playing cards or writing.

A new and exciting alternative to monofocal lenes are multifocal lenses. A presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implant provides excellent vision after cataract surgery at a variety of distances. Depending on your specific vision requirement, there are several types of presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implants that your eye surgeon might suggest, including the Technis Multfocal Implant, ReZoom Lens Implant, ReStor Lens Implant and the Crystalens Lens Implant.

Each of these lens implants or intraocular lenses (IOL) works in a different way to help you achieve your vision correction goals of being able to see at a variety of distances after cataract surgery, without being dependent on eyeglasses. Presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implants corrects both your distance vision and your presbyopia after cataract surgery. For the vast majority of patients, having a multifocal lens implant means that you will be able to see at distance and up close with less dependence on eyeglasses. So, patients choosing to have a presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implant will likely find that they can drive, watch television, read or do crafts without the need for glasses. Patients choosing multifocal lens implants typically experience a greater overall freedom from glasses allowing them to participate in most everyday activities without dependence on, or the hassle of glasses.

Cataracts

As the lens loses it flexibility, it is often followed by another type of change whereby it begins to lose its transparency. As you progress through your 50’s and 60’s, the normally crystal clear lens gradually becomes yellow and cloudy. As the lens loses its transparency and its optical clarity, it may begin to impair your ability to see well in dim illumination, such as for night driving. The cloudiness may also create glare, light sensitivity or an overall decrease in your vision. If parts of the lens become too cloudy they may cause a significant decrease in both your day and night vision. The cloudy, yellowed lens is called cataract.
Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery today is safe, effective and quite common. In fact, if you have been told that you have a cataract, you are definitely not alone. Each year in the United States, more than 2.5 million people have cataract surgery.

Thanks to advanced cataract surgical procedures and lens implant technology, cataract surgery is not only one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the United States, but it is also one of the safest and most successful surgical procedures that you can have. Cataract surgery is performed on an outpatient basis and usually only requires a few hours of your time from beginning to end.

How is Cataract Surgery Performed?

Cataract surgery today is quite comfortable. First, the procedure will begin with your eye being treated with an anesthetic so that you will feel little if anything during your surgery and minimal if any discomfort.
Your eye surgeon operates while looking through a highly specialized microscope, designed exclusively for this purpose. A very small incision, less than 3 cm, is made at the edge of the cornea.



Through the tiny incision, a microsurgical, ultrasonic, oscillating probe is inserted, which gently fragments the cloudy lens, using high frequency sound waves. Simultaneously, this same instrument suctions out the fragmented pieces. This process is called "phacoemulsification". The posterior capsule, an elastic bag-like membrane that held the lens, is left in place.



Once all the minuscule bits of the cataract have been removed, a tiny new clear implant lens is folded, inserted through the small incision, and allowed to open up inside the posterior capsule.



The surgery typically takes 20-30 minutes, and is performed on an outpatient basis. This means that you will have the surgery and then go home, usually around 30 minutes afterwards. Most of the time only local anesthesia is used, so you will be awake for the entire process. After the surgery, you are taken to the recovery room and then released. You will need someone to drive you home.

Learn about Cataracts in Spanish

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