Cataract surgery

Cataracts symptoms include:

• difficulty in reading small print
• blurred vision
• difficulty with day-to-day tasks such as watching TV
• glare and sensitivity to light
• difficulty during nighttime driving

Cataracts do not need to be ready to be removed.  A cataract surgery clinic will advise that removal depends on the symptoms and whether they affect the quality of your life.

Sometimes, you may be required to get them removed to enable monitoring of certain eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or if your driving vision does not meet the compliance standards for the DVLA.

Cataracts can be treated with a private cataract eye surgery called phacoemulsification by taking out the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens implant. Diagnostic tests are required to determine the strength or power of the lens implant. These tests are undertaken either at your first clinic attendance or during a pre-operative assessment appointment.

Various types of lens implants are available and can be selected depending upon your preference for either wearing reading glasses following the operation or independence from wearing spectacles.

The following options are available:

• monofocal lens implants that usually correct for distance vision and glasses are required for close work. Occasionally monofocal lenses correct for near vision and glasses are then required for long distance
• intermediate vision or extended depth of focus (EDoF) lenses correct for long and intermediate distance and glasses may be required to read very small print at near distance
• multifocal lenses correct vision for distance, intermediate and near and aim to achieve spectacle independence for majority of the tasks
• toric lenses are available for correcting astigmatism where the eye is more elongated than round in shape and can be used to correct it at all distances with each of the lenses above

At our cataract surgery clinic, you can expect the following process flow:

1. Most importantly – upon arrival you can have a freshly ground coffee! Please let us know in advance if you want non-dairy milks.

2. A diagnostic technician will take 3-4 diagnostic scans of your eye, with various machines. This is part of the cataract package, so will not be charged. (15 mins)

3. A nurse will do a vision test, measure your eye pressure and take you through a few questions for your cataract pre-assessment. They will put dilating drops in your eye at this stage. (30 mins)

4. Your consultant, will see you once the drops have had a chance to work. They will examine your eye with a slit lamp, review the diagnostic scans and discuss your lens options for cataract surgery. (45 mins)

5. We will send you a quote for the lens option you have chosen, and book you in for your cataract surgery date(s).6. You arrive on the date of your surgery, 30 mins early, for nurses to do checks and dilate your eyes. Your surgery will take approximately 15-25 mins per eye.

6. You get a coffee and sandwich after… again!!

The procedure is usually carried out under a local anaesthetic, during which the patient is awake but the eye is numb and takes 20-30 minutes. It can also be carried out under sedation or a general anaesthetic, where you are awake with a light sedation making you relaxed or alternatively, can be put to sleep.

You can usually go home the same day and can resume your daily activities within the next couple of days of your cataracts treatment, although it is advisable to avoid strenuous activities in the first month or so.