What is a cataract? There is a convex lens-like tissue in the human eye called the lens, and clouding of the lens from any cause is called a cataract. What are the types of cataracts? Cataracts are classified clinically according to their causes, such as senile cataract, congenital cataract, traumatic cataract, concurrent (including diabetic) cataract, drug and toxic cataract, etc. Geriatric cataract is the most common blinding eye disease. What causes cataracts? Some causes are clear, such as congenital cataracts, which are related to genetic factors or diseases such as rubella during the mother’s pregnancy; traumatic cataracts, which are related to trauma of different nature to the affected eye; and senile cataracts, which are the result of multiple factors. How to take care of cataract patients? Avoid strong ultraviolet light (you can bring sunglasses); avoid dehydration; do not use the eyes for too long each time; drink tea often and eat more foods rich in vitamin C, zinc and selenium; control blood sugar; avoid trauma; keep a comfortable mood What are the symptoms of cataract? It varies depending on the degree of crystal clouding and the presence or absence of complications. Mild crystal clouding without complications has no obvious effect on vision, but when crystal clouding reaches a certain level and reaches the pupil, it will affect the light entering the eye and cause a gradual decrease in vision, and in severe cases, blindness. In addition to vision loss, there may also be monocular diplopia, hyperopia, glare, and change in refractive error (e.g., flowering eyes are not flowering anymore) in the affected eye. How can cataracts be treated? To date, there is no evidence that the clouded lens can be reversed to clear, and medications can only slow down the development of cataracts. Surgery is the only effective way to cure cataracts, but whether and when to operate is up to the doctor to decide based on the patient’s visual acuity, ocular and general condition, and of course, the patient’s request. Currently, ultrasound emulsification is the most common surgical method. When is the best time to operate? If the cloudiness of the crystal is obvious and seriously affects the vision (usually below 0.3) and affects the quality of life, surgery should be considered. People who use their eyes a lot and have high vision requirements can have surgery earlier (vision below 0.5); conversely, surgery a little later is not a big obstacle, but it is not necessary to wait until the cataract is fully matured, otherwise the surgery effect may be affected. Can I afford surgery when I’m older? (Or is cataract surgery restricted by age?) As long as there are no serious diseases in the whole body, senior patients can have surgery without age restriction. There are reports of 100-year-old people doing cataract surgery for white everywhere. Our hospital has performed cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery for a 104-year-old man and the postoperative condition was good. Can cataract patients with diabetes and hypertension have surgery? As long as the condition is stable and blood sugar and blood pressure are controlled to near normal levels, with fasting blood sugar of 8mmol/L and blood pressure of 160/90mmHg, surgery can be performed, and if necessary, intraoperative and postoperative cardiac monitoring can be done to ensure safety. What is ultrasonic emulsion cataract surgery? After making a small incision (1.8mm – 3mm) at the junction of the white and black eye, an ultrasound emulsion tip is inserted and ultrasound is emitted to crush and suck out the cloudy lens, and then an IOL is implanted through the incision. Ultrasonic cataract extraction is short, with a small incision, mild postoperative reaction and quick recovery. It is the main surgical method used today. What is extracapsular cataract extraction? It is what is usually called manual cataract extraction. The surgical incision is slightly larger than that of ultrasonic cataract extraction (about 5-6 mm or more), and is suitable for people with hard nuclei and special cases, and the specific surgical method is decided by the surgeon. Can cataracts recur after surgery? The lens structure is like a hard-boiled egg divided into three parts: the lens capsule (soft skin of a hard-boiled egg), the lens cortical layer (hard-boiled egg white), and the lens nucleus (hard-boiled egg yolk); during surgery, the capsule is preserved (i.e., the soft skin of a hard-boiled egg is preserved), and the lens cortical layer and nucleus (i.e., hard-boiled egg yolk and white) are crushed and sucked out, while the capsule left behind may become cloudy. Don’t worry about this, it is easy and safe to open with a laser and can be done in a few minutes. No hospitalization is required. There are three major misconceptions about cataract surgery: 1. Some cataract patients are told to “wait until they can’t see and then operate”, so they wait patiently and don’t go to the hospital for regular checkups. As a result, they are not aware of other eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, chronic angle-closure glaucoma, fundus and vitreous hemorrhage, and especially some diabetic patients, which often delay the treatment of fundus disease and make surgery difficult (when overripe). When the vision is seriously impaired, the above diseases have developed to a more serious degree and the best time for treatment is missed. In this case, even if the surgery is done, satisfactory vision cannot be restored. 2. The traditional concept in the past is that surgery can only be performed after the cataract has matured, which is too cruel especially for patients with cataracts in both eyes and also increases the difficulty of surgery. With the development of ophthalmic microsurgery technology, cataract ultrasound emulsification can achieve good treatment results for immature cataracts. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life, cataract patients can receive surgery when they feel that their visual impairment affects their normal work or life, and they do not have to wait until the cataract is mature. 3. Cataracts often occur unconsciously and develop slowly, and many elderly people do not go to the hospital for examination because they feel that they can see distant objects less clearly than before.