QUESTIONS ABOUT CATARACT SURGERY

Not surprisingly, this is a common question! The answer is that you will not feel any pain during surgery. Most likely, you will be sleeping lightly and have very little memory of what occurred in the operating theatre afterwards.

When to have surgery is always a personal choice. If you are noticing vision problems and your
optometrist or doctor has told you that you have cataracts, it is likely that your cataracts are bad enough
to require surgery.

Early symptoms of cataracts include trouble reading small print along with losing confidence driving
at night due to haloes or struggling with glare during the day. Having to update the prescription in your
glasses more frequently is common as cataracts progress. These symptoms can become noticeable to
you even before your eye care provider notices significant clouding of the lenses of your eyes.

People who need excellent night vision for driving will often seek cataract surgery early on rather than
wait for loss of lines on the vision chart. Others who are not experiencing symptoms may wait until later,
although it is important to have regular eye examinations to monitor your situation and avoid your vision
slipping to the point that driving becomes dangerous.

Yes, cataracts can cause blindness. Fortunately, however, this can be cured by performing cataract
surgery. In fact, often the vision is so good a person can usually legally drive without glasses after surgery.

It is best not to wait until your vision is severely reduced. Cataract surgery is technically easier and
treatment less complex if performed before the vision progresses to legal blindness.

Although around the world there is research into eye drops which reduce the damage to the lens caused
by natural ageing, currently there are no eye drops available in clinical practice. The only treatment for
cataracts is clinically proven cataract surgery. Cataract surgery also allows you the option to correct your
focus problems at the same time, which eye drops will never do.

In many cases the answer is YES – you will enjoy increased freedom from your spectacles. However,
you must remember that everybody is unique with their own set of eye health issues and lifestyle
requirements.

During advanced cataract surgery, the surgeon removes your cloudy cataract and inserts a new, artificial
intraocular lens (IOL). There are a wide variety of IOLs available in Australia, however they can be grouped
into three (3) main categories based on their optical properties. They include: ‘monofocal’ IOLs, ‘extended
depth of focus’ IOLs and ‘multifocal’ IOLs. For each IOL type there is a toric or astigmatism correcting
version available.

The IOL that is ultimately used will be selected based upon what type of vision you want to achieve in the
long term, that will allow you to live the lifestyle that you want. The ‘Vision for Life’ section of this eBook
describes this in more detail.

More information can be found in our Ultimate Guide to Cataract Surgery.

All intraocular (IOL) types are made from similar material, a specialized plastic polymer. Remember, the
IOL is a small, inflexible, man-made piece of technology. Currently, there is no IOL available anywhere in
the world that can perfectly replicate the optics of a young, healthy, natural crystalline lens, which can flex
and therefore change focus, known as ‘accommodation’.

This ability of the young lens to ‘accommodate’
facilitates crystal clear vision spanning the near, intermediate and distance range without the need for
glasses.

It is important to understand that despite incredible advances in technology over the past decade, there
are limitations regarding what can be achieved by cataract surgery.

Toric IOLs are the astigmatism correcting version of each of the 3 major IOL types available in Australia – monofocal, extended depth of focus and multifocal IOLs. Technically, the steps during the operation are the same between IOL types, however toric IOLs are orientated on a specific axis inside the eye.

This axis has been specifically calculated for your eye, based on the measurements taken at your pre-operative assessment.

No. Cataract surgery is performed under ‘twilight sedation’. You will be very relaxed and comfortable and have no memory of your surgery. A general anaesthetic, where a breathing tube is inserted and a ventilator is used, is not needed. In fact, a general anaesthetic has significantly more risks associated with it compared to twilight sedation.

It is completely normal to feel apprehensive or nervous about an operation. You will be provided with the details of your anaesthetist prior to your surgery and are encouraged to contact them for discussion if you wish.