Cataract removal

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Cataract	Cataract - close-up of the eye	Cataract surgery - series	Eye
Slit-lamp exam

Cataract removal is a procedure to remove a clouded lens (cataract) from the eye. Cataracts are removed to improve vision. The procedure almost always includes the replacing the lens of the eye with an artificial lens.

Cataract extraction; Cataract surgery

The normal lens of the eye is transparent (has no color or shade). It focuses light onto the inner surface of the eye (the retina) to create an image. As a cataract develops, the lens becomes cloudy and blocks the normal path of light entering the eye. Vision becomes obscured.

The purpose of cataract surgery is to remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial lens, thereby restoring clear vision. Cataract removal surgery is for people who are not satisfied with their current vision, or whose cataracts disrupt their life.

Cataracts are seen most commonly in the elderly. However, children may be born with clouded lenses (congenital cataracts) due to infections they acquire before birth.

Surgery is usually recommended for people who have loss of vision or visual abnormalities caused by cataracts.

PREPARATION:

An ophthalmologist will take several measurements to assess the type of surgery needed. These tests will include an ultrasound of the eye to measure length and the curvature (shape) of the front surface of the eye. Together, these tests help the surgeon choose the power of the artificial lens that will be implanted in the eye at the time of surgery.

Routine testing before surgery is often done to assess your overall general health prior to cataract removal. Because cataract surgery is usually done with local anesthesia (numbing), most patients are able to undergo cataract extraction regardless of other illnesses they may have.

PROCEDURE:

The surgery is performed in a hospital or in an outpatient setting. Children are typically given general anesthesia to keep them in a deep sleep and pain-free; adults usually are awake but sedated and pain-free with local anesthesia.

With the help of a microscope, a small incision is made at the junction of the clear and white outer parts of the eye. The lens can be removed in several ways, depending upon the type of cataract: