Cataract Surgery

Sight depends on the eye’s transparent lens that allows light to pass through and gives you the ability to see. With age, this lens becomes cloudy- this is known as a cataract.

Cataracts have no definitive cause. It is a gradual, painless reduction of vision. Family history, illness, injury, smoking, and excessive UV exposure may contribute to cataracts in younger people.

Detection of the formation of a cataract can be difficult but indicators include:

• Blurry or cloudy vision
• Glare from headlights
• Difficulty reading fine print
• Problems with night vision
• Yellowish tinted vision
• Halo vision

If visual impairment interferes with your ability to read, work, or do the things you enjoy, then consider cataract surgery. Surgery is the only proven means of effectively treating cataracts. Cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed procedures with over 3 million Americans undergoing cataract surgery each year. Cataract surgery has a very high success rate- over 90% of those who have cataract surgery regain vision of 20/20 to 20/40.

Treating Cataracts

When cataracts first start becoming apparent, glasses and better lighting may be able to compensate for the loss in vision. However in late stages only surgery will be able to improve vision. Thankfully, cataract surgery is proven safe and effective. The team of specialists at Freehold Ophthalmology uses the most state of the art technology to remove cataracts such as phacoemulsification to break up and remove cataracts through very small incisions that typically do not require sutures.

Advanced Cataract Surgery

Technology has progressed so that patients experience little to no pain, enjoy a rapid visual improvement, and return to their normal activities almost immediately. Phacoemulsification surgery is minimally invasive- a small ultrasound probe is inserted into an incision of about 2.5 millimeters and emulsifies, or breaks up the cloudy lens and then vacuums (aspirates) the pieces out of the eye. Today, flexible intraocular lens (IOLs) are available so that the new lens can be inserted in the same incision used during the phaco surgery. Once it is implanted inside the eye, the lens will resume its original shape within the eye.

Anesthesia for Cataract Surgery

Complete patient comfort is a top priority at Freehold Ophthalmology. For every cataract surgery, numbing eye drops are placed in the eye prior to the procedure. Also, a specialized physician known as an anesthesiologist is present to give intravenous sedation to calm and comfort you during the procedure.

Alcon ReSTOR® Lens

Patients who choose the Alcon ReSTOR® Lens for their cataract surgery are often able to enjoy a full range of vision without the need for spectacles. The Alcon ReSTOR® Lens has been uniquely designed to provide enhanced image quality and a full range of vision by using innovative technology with diffraction and apodization.

Diffraction involves the spreading of light as it passes through a lens. The center of the surface of the ReSTOR® lens consists of a series of tiny rings – this is known as an apodized diffractive optic. Apodization is the gradual tapering of different diffractive levels (or “steps”) on a lens, creating a smooth transition of light between distant, intermediate and near focal points. The series of tiny steps in the center of the ReSTOR® lens work together to focus light, providing excellent near, intermediate, and distance vision.

Please visit www.acrysofrestor.com for more information.

Toric IOLs

The Alcon AcrySof® Toric IOL is designed specifically for patients with both cataracts and astigmatism. By implanting a toric lens at the time of cataract surgery, your doctor can correct both problems at the same time. The toric lens has small markings that are aligned to match the axis of the patient’s astigmatism and neutralize it. The AcrySof® Toric IOL also incorporates the enhanced image quality of an aspheric lens.

Please visit www.acrysofiqtoric.com for more information.

Crystalens®

The Crystalens® (Bausch & Lomb) employs an innovative design to mimic the eye’s natural process called accommodation where the lens flexes to changes its point of focus from distance to near. This enables sharper vision at multiple distances for people who have undergone cataract surgery with the Crystalens®.
The Crystalens® has prolate aspheric surfaces, and no spherical aberration thereby providing a better quality of image for both distance and near vision compared to spherical IOL’s. The Crystalens® improves the depth of field and yields excellent contrast sensitivity.

Please visit www.crystalens.com for more information.