Cataract Surgery at North Shore Eye Care

Patients are often perplexed as to when they should consider having cataract surgery and for good reason.  So many people and Drs. alike tell them different things.  For instance, you might here from a friend that you shouldn't have cataract surgery until it is ripe.  The problem is when do you determine that your cataract is ripe.  One thing you don't want to do is wait so long that you have no vision in the eye.  At that time you might find that you've lost your vision from other causes such as glaucoma or diabetes.  If you were to go to an ophthalmic surgeon at this point he may not be able to adequitely examine the back ot your eye because your cataract may be too advanced to allow good visualization.  Sometimes even eye doctors can confuse you by telling you that they see a cataract and that you need surgery.  The problem here may be that prior to going to the doctor's office you thought you were seeing just find.  That is why the Doctors at North Shore Eye Care recommend having surgery only when you feel the need to see better.  You may actually be able to see fairly well on an eye chart under favorable conditions, but when driving at sunrise or sunset when the sun is shining in your eyes the glare from your cataract can be so bad that you may feel disabled.  Likewise driving at night may be problematic should you be incapacitated by oncoming headlights or street lights.  So a good rule of thumb is to strongly consider having your cataract removed when visual symptoms in the affected eye become significant. 

The next consideration is to pick from a vast array in intraocular lens implants to replace your cataract.  Patients sometimes wonder why they need a lens not realizing that the cataract was an important lens that resides behind the pupil of your.  By the time you will need your surgery you most likely will have lost your abilitity to change your focus from distance to near.  The loss of ability to focus known as presbyopia which stands for aging eye happens to most people in their early forty's..  For those wishing to have the ability to see near and far without the need of glasses two types of intraocular lenses can be considered, either accommodating or multifocal.  Those patients with significant astigmatism can choose from a wide array of toric lenses.

Should you have a question as to whether this is the time to consider having cataract surgery call us  and we will be happy to evaluate you and advise you as to your best course of action.  Also keep in mind that we offer monthly cataract seminars.