And Is There a Laser Vision Correction Procedure to Treat Them in Kansas City?
Cataracts negatively affect your vision. If you or a loved one has developed them, then you know how hard they make it to see clearly, especially in dimly-lit environments.
As you age, your risk for developing cataracts increases – but thankfully there’s a way to get rid of them for good. Let’s explore what cataracts are, and what you can do to improve your vision.
What Are Cataracts?
Your eye’s lens is made of water and proteins. As the protein breaks down, it remains in your eye, which clouds the lens and forms the cataract. The cataract blocks the light as it passes through the lens of your eye, so your retina never receives a sharp image.
Early on, you may not notice much of a change in your vision, but over time, you’ll feel like you’re constantly looking through a frosty window. Cataracts usually develop in both eyes, but it doesn’t always happen at the same rate. For example, one eye may have blurry vision, while the other eye sees markedly better.
Cataracts also can cause:
- Increased difficulty seeing at night or in dim light
- Sensitivity to light
- Glares or halos around lights, such as headlights, television screens, or lamps
- Double vision in a single eye
- The need for brighter light
- Frequent changes in your eyeglasses prescription
- Hardening of your eyes’ lenses
- Fading or yellowing of vision and colors
- As your cataracts worsen, you may find it difficult to read, drive, or see clearly in general. But these symptoms don’t have to be permanent.
What Can I Do to Prevent Cataracts?
Cataracts are a normal part of aging, and occur due to genetic predisposition, exposure to UV light, or injury. By age 65, more than 90 percent of Americans will develop cataracts. In short, there is no way to prevent the eventual development of cataracts without medical intervention, even if you eat a healthy diet, exercise, and protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.
Similarly, there is no medicinal treatment to lessen or minimize the effects of cataracts. The only way to reverse them and prevent them from returning is by removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an artificial one during refractive cataract surgery – a process very similar to refractive lens exchange.
How is Refractive Cataract Surgery Different from Traditional Cataract Surgery?
Because refractive cataract surgery involves replacing your cloudy lens with an artificial one, cataracts can never form again. While there are other cataract surgery options, ours at Durrie Vision not only guarantees your cataracts won’t eventually return or re-form in your treated eye, but also corrects underlying refractive errors.
Traditional cataract surgery cannot correct other refractive errors you may be experiencing, such as astigmatism, farsightedness, nearsightedness, or presbyopia. In fact, after your traditional surgery, you may still need reading glasses or bifocals for your near vision.
Refractive cataract surgery at Durrie Vision involves removing your existing lens and replacing it with a multifocal lens, or one with an extended depth-of-focus, or Toric IOLs. We use real-time IOL power calculations during surgery to optimize your overall vision correction, and can provide corneal laser vision correction, like LASIK surgery to optimize your visual outcome after your cataract surgery. Most patients report no longer needing reading glasses or bifocals as a result.
Because refractive cataract surgery replaces the lens in your eye with an artificial one, that lens can never develop cataracts ever again.
Do I Qualify for Cataract Surgery?
Many people with cataracts qualify for surgery at Durrie Vision. The first step in determining your candidacy for refractive cataract surgery is to schedule a free advanced ocular analysis (AOA) at Durrie Vision. Our AOA is the foundation for exceptional visual outcomes in qualifying patients.
A seven-step process, our AOA provides detailed information about the health of your eyes and the severity of your cataracts. This guides your eye surgeon’s recommendation for refractive cataract surgery, or other laser vision correction options.
Schedule a Free Consultation to Learn How You Can Get Rid of Cataracts for Good
To find out which laser vision correction procedure is right for you, schedule a consultation at Durrie Vision. Our team will conduct our in-depth AOA to determine whether you qualify, and you’ll meet with one of our refractive eye surgeons to learn more. You may soon be on your way to clearer vision, with cataract-free lenses.
Call Durrie Vision at (913) 491-3330 to schedule your consultation in Overland Park, Kansas, today.