The question often asked by patients and their families during the usual clinic visits is: Doctor, do I have cataract? Doctor, when will my cataract be ready for surgery?
Some early cataract cases require pupil dilation to detect lens clouding in the periphery.
So, a popular saying in the society, especially among the elderly population, is that “cataracts need to be done only after they have matured”? We need to clarify that this is how cataract extraction was performed in the past, i.e., the traditional manual way. Nowadays, it is common to use “3.0mm incision for cataract ultrasound emulsification combined with foldable IOL implantation”, so you can imagine that if the cataract is very mature, ultrasound emulsification is quite difficult to perform. Therefore, modern ophthalmology is of the opinion that “once cataract formation affects visual function and quality of life, it is best to perform surgery as early as possible”.
The advantages of performing cataract surgery at an early stage are: 1. The surgery is relatively easy to perform, so the surgery is less damaging, less risky and the recovery after surgery is fast.
2.Improving the vision of the affected eye earlier will enable the elderly to enjoy the beautiful world of life more.