Professor Shen has eight hundred degrees of myopia since he was young, myopia gradually deepened over the past few years, in order to read the literature for scientific research, can only frequently replace the glasses. Since the beginning of this year, Professor Shen’s vision in both eyes has significantly decreased, and he still cannot see clearly with his glasses on, so when acquaintances greet him on the road, he will “ignore” them. After visiting many hospitals, he was diagnosed with “cataract”, but due to his long course of cataract, fundus lesions, and history of high myopia, the hospitals thought that “surgery is possible but risky” and advised him not to operate. After two years of delay, Professor Shen’s vision continued to decline in both eyes, and he could only see the shadow of a person in his left eye. The whole family was very anxious and was referred to our specialist clinic by an acquaintance.
Cataract is an age-related eye disease, and high myopia, diabetes, and drug application can also affect the occurrence and development of cataract. When you have cataract, in addition to the most typical symptom – vision loss, there is also glare and myopia deepening. Surgery is currently the only effective treatment for cataracts. Before the 1980s, it was known that cataracts had to wait until they were “mature” before surgery was performed, because the medical level and medical equipment at that time were limited and surgery was considered appropriate at this stage. With the rapid development and popularity of microsurgery in ophthalmology, cataract surgery has made a qualitative leap. With the availability of ultrasonic cataract emulsification, early cataract surgery is advocated with less surgical risk and faster postoperative recovery. At present, in the more economically developed areas of China, patients with reduced visual function (vision loss, glare, etc.) due to cataract and affecting the patient’s standard of living can undergo surgery.
We arranged the surgery for Prof. Shen, which took only 8 minutes. After the surgery, his vision recovered very well, and the corrected visual acuity of both eyes reached 1.0. The reason for this is that although Prof. Shen has lesions in the fundus of his eyes, there is still a functional and healthy retina in the main part. It is much easier to read, and he is also more refreshed.
We have met many patients like Prof. Shen, who, because of their own ophthalmic diseases and fundus lesions accompanied by cataracts, have concerns about the risks of surgery and the recovery of vision after surgery, and have given up the chance to recover their sight. But it is already too late. For ophthalmologists, careful examination of the patient’s eyes, scientific and rigorous diagnosis, and accurate prediction of post-cataract surgery results are essential for patients to receive the correct and appropriate treatment.