1. What is cataract?
The clouding of the lens due to various causes is called cataract, which can cause loss of visual function and is the first blindness-causing eye disease worldwide.
2. What are the types of cataracts?
Cataracts can be divided into the following types according to their causes: age-related cataracts (also known as senile cataracts), traumatic cataracts, concurrent cataracts, metabolic cataracts (such as diabetic cataracts), congenital cataracts, posterior cataracts, toxic cataracts, radioactive cataracts and so on. Among them, age-related cataract is the most common.
3. What are the causes of cataract?
The causes of cataract are various, and different types of cataract have different etiologies. The pathogenesis of the most common age-related cataract (also called senile cataract) has not been fully revealed yet, and may be related to ageing, long-term excessive exposure to ultraviolet light, genetic factors, etc. Traumatic cataract, congenital cataract, diabetic cataract, radioactive cataract, etc. have corresponding clearer causes; concurrent cataract is related to certain eye diseases such as glaucoma, uveitis, retinal Complicated cataracts are related to certain diseases of the eye such as glaucoma, uveitis, retinal detachment and retinitis pigmentosa. The formation of other types of cataracts may be related to poisoning, malnutrition, etc.
4. What are the manifestations (signs and symptoms) of cataract?
The most common symptoms are: blurred vision in one or both eyes, gradually worsening; other manifestations are: darkening of vision, glare (or halos), diplopia or hyperopia, photophobia, myopia or deepening of myopia, etc. In general, there are no other symptoms. When cataract is not treated in time, complications such as glaucoma and uveitis may occur, such as eye redness, eye swelling, eye pain and even headache, nausea and vomiting. Patients may have diabetes, eye trauma, family history of cataract or history of cataract surgery, or history of other eye diseases. If there is a previous history of glaucoma, uveitis, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, etc., there are manifestations of the corresponding diseases.
The main signs during ophthalmic examination are: decreased visual acuity; the lens shows different degrees, locations and colors of clouding. Some patients may be accompanied by other manifestations, such as ocular congestion, corneal edema, corneal wound, pupillary adhesion, vitreous clouding, retinal detachment, retinal pigmentation, and elevated intraocular pressure.
5. How to treat cataract?
Drug treatment has no definite effect on cataract. Currently, the recognized effective treatment for cataract is surgery to remove the cloudy lens and implant a clear artificial lens to restore the patient’s vision.
6. What are the current surgical methods for cataract treatment?
At present, the mainstream cataract surgery method is “ultrasonic cataract aspiration combined with folded IOL implantation”, which has a small incision (2-3mm), little damage to the eye, light postoperative reaction, quick recovery of the incision, no need for suturing, and good postoperative vision. It is not necessary for patients to wait until the cataract is fully mature before surgery. Because of these features, ultrasonic cataract aspiration can be performed on an outpatient basis or as a one-day inpatient “day surgery”. In recent years, femtosecond laser-assisted ultrasonic cataract aspiration has become clinically available and has taken advantage of high-end IOL implantation procedures.
In the past, cataract surgery with large incisions, such as extracapsular cataract extraction and intracapsular cataract extraction, was rarely used in clinical practice because of the disadvantages of large surgical incisions, greater damage to the eye, heavy postoperative reactions and slow recovery; the need for sutures to close the incisions, heavy postoperative astigmatism and relatively poor vision; long operation time and the need to inject anesthetic around the eye.
7.What is IOL? What types and functions are there? How to choose?
An IOL is a special lens made of synthetic materials that resembles the human lens in shape, transmission, refractive power, and function. After cataract removal, this lens is implanted in the eye to replace the original lens to restore vision.
According to the nature of the IOL material, it can be divided into rigid (cannot be folded and must be implanted through a large incision) and soft (can be folded and can be implanted through a small incision). According to IOL function, IOLs can be divided into: monofocal IOLs (single focal point) and multifocal IOLs (multifocal design, which can provide distance, middle and near vision); adjustable IOLs (simulating the adjustment function of human eyes); spherical IOLs (large phase difference) and aspheric IOLs (small phase difference, clear vision and good contrast sensitivity); astigmatism-correcting IOLs (correcting corneal astigmatism and improving postoperative (to correct corneal astigmatism and improve postoperative visual quality); blue light filtering IOL (for retinal protection), etc. IOLs can also be classified according to the location of the IOL implantation, whether there is a difference between the material of the optical part of the IOL and that of the loop, and the shape of the IOL.
Patients can choose personalized, high-quality IOLs suitable for them according to their age, eye habits, living conditions, work nature, eye conditions and economic conditions under the guidance of professionals.