If considering cataract surgery St Louis residents should know a few basic facts about the procedure beforehand. The surgery is performed to extract the affected lens and to replace it with an artificial one. The condition results from the formation of opacities in the lens due to a metabolic disorder affecting the lens fibres. This results in visual impairment.
Because of advances in opthalmology, the procedure does not need one to be admitted to hospital. It is done in as few as 15 minutes in the outpatient. Local anaesthetics or topical anaesthetics are effective enough in producing a numbing effect. The success rate is very high with close to 90% of patients showing very significant improvement of vision after the intervention.
Currently, two types of this surgery are available and these are phacoemulsification (also known as phaco) and ECCE (conventional extracapsular cataract extraction). Before these two, Intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE) was the only option for these patients. ICCE entailed removal of a lens together with its capsule and replacing both with artificial components. Cryoextraction is a variant of ICCE in which the lens was first frozen and then extracted. The many associated complications necessitated a modification. Cryoextraction is still used in cases of subluxed lenses.
In phaco, lens replacement is done using foldable lenses. The lens nucleus is first fragmented into small pieces then emulsified and aspirated. The ECCE technique, on the other hand, involves removal of the lens in one piece but leaving the capsule intact to support the implant. Non-foldable lenses are used. Phaco is usually preferred over ICCE because it uses very small incisions that do not require suturing.
The lenses implanted may either be monofocal or multifocal. The multifocal are the more recent of the two. As opposed to the monofocal, they provide vision at more than one distance because of their accommodative ability. They do not require one to wear glasses or contact lenses as was the case previously.
There are some complications of cataract surgery St Louis residents may be interested in. These include retinal swelling, retinal detachment, increased pressure (glaucoma) and bleeding among others. Visual loss (both partial and complete) has also been reported. Luckily, these complications are quite rare.
Because of advances in opthalmology, the procedure does not need one to be admitted to hospital. It is done in as few as 15 minutes in the outpatient. Local anaesthetics or topical anaesthetics are effective enough in producing a numbing effect. The success rate is very high with close to 90% of patients showing very significant improvement of vision after the intervention.
Currently, two types of this surgery are available and these are phacoemulsification (also known as phaco) and ECCE (conventional extracapsular cataract extraction). Before these two, Intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE) was the only option for these patients. ICCE entailed removal of a lens together with its capsule and replacing both with artificial components. Cryoextraction is a variant of ICCE in which the lens was first frozen and then extracted. The many associated complications necessitated a modification. Cryoextraction is still used in cases of subluxed lenses.
In phaco, lens replacement is done using foldable lenses. The lens nucleus is first fragmented into small pieces then emulsified and aspirated. The ECCE technique, on the other hand, involves removal of the lens in one piece but leaving the capsule intact to support the implant. Non-foldable lenses are used. Phaco is usually preferred over ICCE because it uses very small incisions that do not require suturing.
The lenses implanted may either be monofocal or multifocal. The multifocal are the more recent of the two. As opposed to the monofocal, they provide vision at more than one distance because of their accommodative ability. They do not require one to wear glasses or contact lenses as was the case previously.
There are some complications of cataract surgery St Louis residents may be interested in. These include retinal swelling, retinal detachment, increased pressure (glaucoma) and bleeding among others. Visual loss (both partial and complete) has also been reported. Luckily, these complications are quite rare.
About the Author:
Click here for more information about What One Needs To Know About Cataract Surgery .
No comments:
Post a Comment