When is the best time for cataract surgery?
Ophthalmologists reminded that cataracts are too “mature” and have many complications, and generally speaking, surgery can be considered when the vision declines to the point that it affects life.
The 65-year-old Chen Yibu was diagnosed with senile cataract five years ago, and her doctor recommended early surgery, but she was afraid of surgery and delayed it again and again. Last week, Chen’s right eye became completely blind and painfully distended. A checkup at the hospital revealed that the cataract was overripe and caused secondary glaucoma, and the distention and pain was caused by elevated eye pressure. The doctor immediately removed the cataract for her. After the surgery, Chen’s vision was restored and the eye swelling was relieved. Cataract Ye Xiang of Xiamen Eye Center affiliated with Xiamen University Cataract overmaturity can bring complications such as glaucoma and uveitis, increasing the risk of blindness. At the same time, overripe cataracts can affect the surgeon’s observation and understanding of the fundus condition and prediction of postoperative vision improvement. Cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery has a small wound and quick recovery, so surgery can be considered when the vision loss due to cataract affects normal life.
Cataracts that are too “mature” have many complications and are difficult to operate. Cataracts that are too mature lead to crystal edema and swelling, resulting in impaired atrial fluid circulation and increased intraocular pressure, which can lead to glaucoma. If glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve, vision will not be restored. Cataract overripening will bring many complications, besides the common glaucoma, there are also uveitis, etc. These mostly occur in the middle and late stages of cataract, which will not only cause blindness, but even cause serious inflammation in the eye, resulting in atrophy of the eye. Some patients cannot bear the long-term eye pain and finally have to have their eyes removed.
Overripe cataracts can also make surgery more difficult and affect the recovery of vision after surgery. He once saw a patient with diabetic cataract who could not see clearly because of the blockage of the cataract whenever she came to the hospital for fundus examination, and she was advised to operate and was unwilling to do so until she could not see at all and then had to operate. During the surgery, it was found that the cataract nucleus was hard and difficult to manipulate. Although the cataract was carefully removed and the surgery was successfully completed, the recovery of vision after the surgery was still unsatisfactory. During the postoperative examination of the fundus, it was found that the retina was diseased due to diabetes, with neovascularization and large bleeding and leakage, and the vision could not be restored to its original level.
People can see things all by focusing light on the lens in the eye, and the clouding of the lens becomes cataract, which mostly occurs in elderly people over 50 years old.
Early cataracts can cause symptoms such as blurred vision, fear of light and double vision. In addition, cataracts can also lead to complications such as glaucoma and iritis. Therefore, once you find similar symptoms, you should go to the hospital early to check whether there is a cataract and the severity of the cataract.
As for when exactly to operate? Vice President Ye Xiang introduced that the traditional concept in the past was to operate after the cataract matured and could not be seen. However, with the improvement of surgical methods and the update of surgical equipment, the current treatment concept is that surgery should be performed as early as possible after the appearance of cataract so as to obtain the best postoperative effect. In addition, people’s living and working habits have changed. For example, in the past, people did not require high vision, but nowadays many elderly people need to drive, look at cell phones, read computers or engage in other fine activities, which makes it more important to have early surgery. Nowadays, cataract ultrasound surgery is done through a micro-incision of about 2 mm. The cataract is broken and aspirated by ultrasound energy, and then an IOL is put in, and the whole process takes less than 10 minutes, and the surgical effect can basically last a lifetime. If patients have higher requirements for visual quality due to work and life needs, there are many kinds of IOLs available. Through non-invasive surgical techniques and personalized IOL selection, we can provide satisfactory post-operative results for all cataract patients.