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During the
35 years I have been involved in cataract surgery many
changes have occurred. The hospital stay that started
with one night pre-op and ended one week post-op is now accomplished at an out-patient facility with a one hour
post-op stay. Three weeks of no work recovery is now
reduced to back to work the next day. Thick glasses or
contacts have been replaced by implants that restore
vision quickly. A large incision requiring many stitches
and often causing astigmatism, has been replaced by no stitch small incision
surgery. A rigid implant that required a 6 mm incision
is now made of silicon or acryllic that folds and is
inserted through a 3mm incision. What was a one hour
operation under injection or general anesthesia is now a
15 minute procedure under topical anesthesia. Light
sensitivity (photophobia) and weeks of pupil dilation
are now replaced with minimal discomfort.
Myopia(near-sighted)
and hyperopia(far-sighted) can be eliminated by
use of the proper implant. Measurement for the implant
is now done by a non-contact probe to eliminate errors
in measurement.
The
latest achievement is the introduction of an FDA
approved multifocal implant called RESTOR. This is
available to all
patients including Medicare patients (ruling changed
5/10/05) who can use the RESTOR lens to achieve
near and distance from the same eye. Single vision
implants, the most commonly used, can be used to achieve
distance with both eyes (requires reading glasses) or
monovision (one eye for near the other for distance).
The
great news is cataract surgery or refractive lens
exchange to achieve more functional vision continues to improve. You can expect that a
healthy eye will see very well for many years to come. |
