Cataract Surgery

What are Cataracts?

A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which sits behind the iris and the pupil. The natural lens is responsible for focusing light from outside the eye into and onto the retina. As the lens becomes cloudy (cataract formation), light does not adequately pass onto the retina which leads. Additionally, clouding of the natural lens can cause incoming light to scattered. Symptoms from cataract include:

• Blurry vision (at distance, near, or both)
• Glare from bright lights (i.e. the sun, car headlights, overhead lights)
• Dimming of vision requiring stronger ambient light to see better
• Dulling of color vision
• Frequently changing glasses prescriptions or glasses that don't seem to work

Most cataracts simply develop due to age, and most people will form cataracts over time. Other risk factors for cataract formation include genetics, smoking, diabetes, radiation exposure, and the use of certain medications. While most patients are over 65 years old by the time they need cataract surgery, some patients may require surgery earlier in life if the cataracts are affecting their vision and lifestyle.

How are Cataracts Treated?

When cataract formation is early, sometimes we can improve a patient’s vision and symptoms with a new eyeglass prescription. When a patient’s vision and/or lifestyle becomes affected and prescription lenses do not help or cannot be tolerated, cataract surgery is recommended. In most cases cataract surgery is elective, meaning the patient has to desire surgery to improve their symptoms.

During cataract surgery, the cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced by a clear plastic lens. This new lens is considered an implant and gets placed in the same anatomic location where the natural lens once was, behind the pupil. Surgery is performed either at an outpatient surgical center or in the hospital operating room and patients are typically given IV sedation along with numbing eye drops.

What Causes Cataracts?

A cataract has many causes, including aging, genetics, poor diet, injury, ultraviolet exposure, smoking, diseases such as diabetes, and the use of certain medications. Cataracts can occur at any age.

When Should Cataracts be Removed?

Cataract surgery is performed when vision becomes affected. Years ago, people needed to wait until their cataracts became advanced before surgery could be performed. But thanks to surgical advances, that’s no longer the case.

Sometimes, cataracts grow so slowly that people are unaware they’ve lost vision. We share video imaging with patients to help them understand what is occurring in their eye.

What is Lifestyle Cataract Surgery?

Lifestyle cataract surgery involves removing the cataract and replacing the lens with a specially designed artificial lens implant. These lenses can provide a greater range of vision without glasses compared to traditional cataract surgery. They can correct astigmatism, near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and presbyopia.

We are experienced with many types of lens implants including PanOptix, Eyhance, Vivity, Symfony, Crystalens, Tecnis, Trulign, and others. We perform all Lifestyle lenses cataract surgery with the LenSx femtosecond laser.

Our goal is to reduce or eliminate dependence on glasses.

Why choose InVision Eye Care for your Cataract Surgery?

At InVision, we emphasize quality over quantity. We limit the number of surgeries scheduled per day so that our surgeons can give each patient the best care and attention. Your personalized experience begins before you even arrive at our office with a phone call from a patient navigator to start educating you about cataract surgery, your surgical options, and answer any questions you may have. At your pre-surgical evaluation, we employ advanced eye testing and diagnostic imaging to improve your surgical outcome.

Our surgeons are highly experienced with implanting premium lens implants to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses after surgery. They are also certified users of the LENSAR ALLY, the most advanced robotic laser used today to provide more precise, gentle, and efficient cataract surgery. Finally, in the rare event of an unexpected visual outcome, we offer qualifying patients complementary in-office laser vision correction.

Our cataract surgeons have over four decades of cumulative experience, performed tens of thousands of successful surgeries, and very low complication rates. Our surgeons have also taught other surgeons: Dr. Hedaya served as a clinical instructor of cataract surgery at New York University Medical Center, and Dr. Ragam was chief resident at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.

Advanced Technology for Better Results

Patients should choose a surgeon with top expertise and equipment. Key considerations include:

• Use of the femtosecond laser for a precise, gentle procedure.
• Access to a Dry Eye Center to optimize results.
• Advanced computer measurements with devices like the Zeiss IOL Master 700, Zeiss Callisto, and Marco OPD3.
• In-office Laser Vision Correction capability.
• Affordable compounded eye drops and new medications such as Dextenza.
• Use of a high-quality surgical facility like Seashore Surgical Institute.