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- What are cataracts?
- Symptoms of cataracts
- Causes of cataracts
- Prevention of cataracts
- Risk factors for cataracts
- Complications of cataracts
- When to see a doctor about cataracts
- Diagnosis of cataracts
- Conventional treatment of cataracts
- Alternative/complementary treatment of cataracts
- Living with cataracts
- Caring for someone with cataracts
Conventional treatment of cataracts
The best way to treat cataracts is to have surgery to remove them and restore proper vision by replacing the damaged lens with a clear lens implant. Cataract surgery is simple and effective and is performed without the need for over-night stay in an eye hospital.
Sometimes the cataracts can be corrected through non-surgical means (if they are mild) to prevent further deterioration of eyesight. This is achieve through the use of special prescription glasses or contact lenses.
There are 3 types of surgical procedures used to remove a complex cataract that is interfering with sight and insert an artificial lens in Australia, with the eye specialist (ophthalmologist) viewing the eye and operating through a special microscope device to enable precise surgery. Surgery usually involves anaesthetic only to the affected eye:
- Phacoemulsification - in this procedure, a small cut is made in the eye and a small probe is inserted into the cataract to break it up into small pieces and suction it up (the lens is also removed), after which the artificial lens is positioned; stitches are usually not required and this procedure usually last 1 hour
- Extracapsular Extraction - this procedure is not commonly used except on those patients whose lens is difficult to remove with the normal surgery (phacoemulsification), where the front of the capsule is cut to enable removal of the lens; this procedures requires stitches and post-operative care
- Intracapsular Extraction - this is a rare surgery, not normally performed, where the entire lens and capsule are removed and replaced with an artificial one; stitches and more post-operative care may be required
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