Cataract surgery should be done earlier so it is less traumatic

Cataract is a common and major cause of blindness in ophthalmology. With the aging of my country's population, a large number of cataract patients need sight-restoring surgery every year.

1.What is cataract?

Answer: Cataract refers to the disorder of lens metabolism and denaturation and turbidity of lens protein caused by factors such as age, heredity, nutrition, immunity, metabolism, and trauma.

2. Does cataract only affect the elderly? Is it hereditary?

A: Cataracts are actually a family disease. They are not just a disease that only the elderly get, but can occur in people of all ages. Congenital cataracts are hereditary. So no matter how old you are, you should pay attention to cataracts.

3. Does cataract surgery have to wait until the eye is mature enough to be performed, otherwise it will not be removed cleanly?

A: This is a serious misunderstanding. Cataract surgery can only be performed when it is mature. This is an old method from decades ago. Now we advocate that cataract surgery should be performed earlier so that it is less traumatic.

4. I started to see clearly after the surgery, but later it became unclear? Is it a recurrence of cataract?

A: Cataract surgery removes the cloudy lens and will not recur. However, cataract surgery currently preserves the capsular bag, and a small number of people have cloudy posterior capsules due to physical conditions or medical conditions. This is clinically called "posterior cataract" because the cells in the capsular bag of the implanted artificial lens will divide and proliferate, making the capsular bag thicker, causing things to look like a layer of plastic cloth blocking the eyes. So after a period of cataract surgery, things become unclear again. If this happens, you can go to the hospital for treatment and use YAG posterior capsule laser to solve this problem.

5. Do I need to wear glasses after cataract surgery?

A: Whether you need to wear glasses after cataract surgery depends on the type of artificial lens implanted. Due to the limitations of the optical design of monofocal lenses, you need to wear glasses to correct your distance or near vision after surgery. Multifocal lenses can take into account both distance and near vision, but they are not suitable for patients with fundus diseases. Patients with astigmatism of 150-400 degrees can consider choosing astigmatic artificial lenses to obtain more comfortable postoperative vision.

6. Is it true that the more expensive the artificial lens, the better?

A: The price of cataract intraocular lenses is not necessarily proportional to their quality or effectiveness. When choosing an intraocular lens, you should decide based on the patient's specific situation and needs, rather than simply using price as a criterion. The ophthalmologist will recommend the most suitable lens type based on the patient's eye health, such as corneal thickness and retinal condition.

7. Can medication cure cataracts?

A: Cataracts cannot be cured by drugs. Currently, surgery is the only effective way to treat cataracts.

Wu Mo, an ophthalmologist at the Eye and Optometry Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University