1. Can cataracts be treated with medication?
Now there are many drugs, such as point of eye drops, oral medicine, Chinese medicine preparations, etc. Although the effect of these drugs cannot be completely denied, we currently see that the drugs cannot fundamentally solve the cataract development situation. Although some drugs are said to play a certain role in delaying the development of cataracts, we have observed through clinical observation that its effect is not very reliable. Therefore, we do not recommend cataract patients to use one kind of eye drops or one kind of cataract medicine for a long time because the effect is not very reliable after all; also, it is not right to use eye drops for a long time because there are many preservatives added in eye drops and if these drugs do not work well, the preservatives will have negative effects on the eyes. In addition, people spend a lot of money on drugs, and economic expenses are also a problem. Some individual medical units may over-promote the effect of drugs for economic needs, so that patients spend thousands of dollars and have no effect at all. As for the retarding effect of drugs on the development of cataracts, conclusive evidence is needed to confirm it.
On the whole, surgery is the only effective treatment for cataracts at present. The clouded lens is removed through surgery and an artificial lens is implanted, or glasses can be worn after surgery to correct vision. The surgery is not very dangerous. If you have high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, you can receive the surgery as long as your blood pressure, heart function and blood sugar are controlled within a relatively normal range.
2. In early stage cataract patients, the condition has slowed down and the vision has improved after medication, is it that the cataract has healed itself?
This situation may be due to some psychological implication through the use of medicine, and some elderly people may have dry eyes and may moisten their eyes after ordering medicine. In fact, there are many reasons for poor eyesight. For example, some people may feel comfortable with their eyes after ordering the medicine and may relieve some symptoms, but in fact, in terms of eye examination, cataract is not reduced.
3.What are the types of cataract surgery?
Surgery is the only effective treatment for cataracts and there are several types.
(1) Modern cataract extracapsular extraction.
(2), cataract intracapsular extraction.
(3), cataract aspiration.
(4), crystalline capsulotomy or resection
(5), optical iridectomy.
(6), cataract ultrasound emulsification.
Among them, cataract ultrasound emulsification is the most advanced and has gradually become popular in China in recent years.
4.When can cataract surgery be done?
Some people still have this concept that cataracts must be “ripe” before surgery can be done. “In the early years of cataract surgery, the method used was called cataract intracapsular surgery, which required cataracts to be “ripe” before surgery could be performed. With the development of technology now, cataract surgery has become very advanced, and more people now understand that cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery is required. This kind of surgery should be done when the vision reaches 0.3~0.4, and when the vision reaches 0.1, it is time to do cataract removal.
For example, if the patient is a professional driver, his vision must be corrected above 0.7; or a painter who has cataracts and has problems not only with vision but also with color perception, so the surgery should be done early.
5. What are the common treatment methods for cataract surgery now and how should different people choose the treatment method that suits them?
With the development of technology, especially the application of microscopic technology, many hospitals in large cities and even some medium-level cities are now using the most advanced method called cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery, and some county-level hospitals also carry out such surgery. This surgical method is chosen according to the technical conditions of the hospital doctors. In our opinion, for any cataract occurring in the elderly, they can receive ultrasonic emulsion surgery, only that the application varies from hospital to hospital, which is closely related to the technical level of the doctor.
6.What is the principle of cataract ultrasonic emulsification surgery?
In the past, cataract surgery was performed by making a large incision and taking out the cataract. Now scientists have come up with a way to use small incision surgery. As we all know, surgery is done with laparoscopy, which can be done with a very small incision and minimally invasive removal. In fact, cataract ultrasonic emulsification surgery is also a minimally invasive surgery. An incision is made on the eye, and a needle-thin ultrasonic emulsification tip is inserted to crush the cataract, and after crushing, a small suction tube is used to suck it out and implant an artificial lens.
7.What are the advantages of cataract ultrasonic emulsification surgery?
Firstly, the damage is small. Secondly, the patient recovers quickly. Third, it can reduce some effects caused by the surgery, such as astigmatism.
8.Is the cost of cataract ultrasonic emulsion surgery high?
The cost of cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery is not high, except for the cost of some auxiliary materials, such as ultrasound needles, etc. The general cost of surgery is more than 2,000 yuan, while normal cataract surgery with a large incision is more than 900 yuan, and ultrasound emulsification surgery may cost about 1,000 yuan more. In addition, the high cost of the surgery is related to the folded IOL implanted, so the total surgery cost may add up to a higher amount compared to the original surgery method.
9.What hospitals in China can successfully perform cataract ultrasound emulsification surgery now?
After 20 years of changes, ultrasonic cataract surgery can now be considered as a mainstream cataract surgery method, and it can be done in many hospitals in many cities, but there are some differences in the technical level.
Who are not suitable for ultrasonic cataract surgery?
For example, some elderly people have old and mature cataracts, and some doctors are not skilled enough, so they may have some complications after surgery, so I suggest them to use a more conservative treatment method, such as extracapsular extraction, which is safer. For doctors like us who specialize in cataracts, 100% of them apply ultrasound emulsification to operate on patients.
11.Is it possible to treat cataract in the elderly or not?
Some patients ask if it is okay for me not to have surgery at such an old age. In fact, cataracts should be done at a certain level. As the onset of cataracts gets longer, the lens over-ages and produces glaucoma and inflammation. In some people, glaucoma can occur in the early stage of cataracts, due to the sudden acceleration of the disease, and this kind of glaucoma can cause blindness overnight, which is particularly dangerous. Therefore, it is very wrong to wait until you can’t see before doing cataract.
12. Can some elderly people still have surgery when they are older?
Some patients ask me if they can have surgery when they are over 80 years old. I often joke with them that the oldest age I can do is 102 years old, and you are still young. However, as we age, the body’s own metabolic capacity decreases, we must pay attention to his whole body, but do not misunderstand that at the age of 90 years old can not do, our patients in the 90-year-old patients are still quite a lot.
13.Can older people withstand the surgery themselves and how long does it take to recover?
People in their 80s have a strong ability to recover, and ultrasound emulsification surgery does not affect their normal life. It is not that older people cannot undergo this kind of surgery. Of course, the younger you are, the faster you recover, which is also certain, but older people also have no problem.
14.What tests should be done before cataract surgery?
For example, elderly people may have heart problems, blood sugar problems and blood pressure problems, so these indicators must be controlled properly, at least at a reasonable level.
15.Can patients with glaucoma undergo surgery?
Some glaucoma is also an age-related disease, and it can be accompanied by cataracts. Most patients with glaucoma can receive cataract surgery if they can control their IOP well with medication. Some elderly people have glaucoma and cataract. By doing cataract, his glaucoma can be treated at the same time.
16.After surgery, what do I need to pay attention to? How should I use my eyes?
After surgery, patients should take medication as prescribed by the doctor, pay attention to rest, use the eyes properly, and don’t overexert. In addition, don’t get hurt, although the incision is small, it is fragile and needs care during the healing process.
17.Is it good to sleep after surgery?
Sleeping after surgery is not good. Around the third day of surgery, if the eyes are normal, you can go outdoors to do some activities, because the metabolism of the body in bed all day is slow, which has an impact on the recovery of physical diseases, because minimally invasive eye surgery does not affect normal walking, normal walking is possible, unlike having other diseases, especially some surgical procedures, the wound needs to heal slowly. If the incision has been closed, you can move around properly, and your eyes will recover faster after the activity.
18.How long after surgery should I go to the hospital for follow-up?
If the patient feels good after a week, he can continue to order some restorative medication, but it is not necessary to go to the hospital for examination. You can go to an optician to see if you can improve your vision through correction by wearing glasses. If there are any problems, such as dryness symptoms, you can go to the hospital to do some consultation and examination.
19.After surgery, is it possible to do intense sports?
It is better not to do intense sports, you can take a walk, play tai chi, you can move around, try not to do too strenuous sports, generally after three months after the surgery, you will recover almost, two months is also possible, but be careful.
20.After surgery, how long can I go swimming?
It should be about one month after surgery, you can go swimming, but you should also be careful, after all, some water splashes are quite big, especially in the sea, it is best not to go, swimming pools are okay, swimming process may also touch the eyes, be careful, but about a month should not be a big problem.
21.What do patients with diabetes and high blood pressure need to pay attention to when having cataract surgery?
First of all, this surgery is already a minimally invasive surgery, in addition, we all use surface anesthesia, during the surgery, we put three drops of anesthetic on the eyes, usually it does not hurt, so, you should not be too nervous, people with high blood pressure often have high blood pressure when they are nervous, first of all, you should control your emotions well, do not be nervous. In addition, rest well, if the rest is not good blood pressure will be high, at the same time, must listen to the doctor’s advice, antihypertensive drugs to eat on time and according to the point, with drugs to control blood pressure. There are also diabetic patients should pay attention to diet, many patients with poor blood sugar control, in addition to inappropriate drugs, more is not pay attention to diet, such as eating too much fruit, blood sugar is very difficult to control. We hope to control blood sugar to the basic normal before surgery, but we can’t require all people to have normal blood sugar, for example, some people’s blood sugar can be stable to 7 to 8 units when fasting, they can receive cataract surgery, the highest indicator should not exceed 10, it is more dangerous to exceed 10, of course, these are fasting blood sugar.
22. After cataract surgery, regenerative cataracts, what is going on in the end? What should I do when I encounter this situation?
Cataract surgery requires the implantation of an artificial lens, why? If an IOL is not implanted after cataract surgery, it is the same as a camera without a lens, so the light cannot be focused and no photo can be taken. Whether it is extracapsular cataract extraction or ultrasound emulsification surgery, IOL implantation is already a mandatory method in modern cataract surgery. Without the posterior capsule, the lens cannot be implanted in the original lens position and will be removed to the back of the eye. However, the posterior capsule may thicken over time, and some cells may grow in to block the vision, which is a recurrence of cataract.
Once the posterior capsule is cloudy, a laser can be used to open up a channel, so that the condition can be improved or restored to the level after surgery.