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Cataract Surgery |
Details
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Cataract surgery is performed by surgical removal of a hard capacity of the lens of the eye and implanting an intraocular plastic lens. Before the procedure, a surgeon administers a local anesthetic. One injection is done in the eyelid to prevent blinking and another is done in the muscles of the eye to immobilize the eyeball. An ophthalmologist then selects a thin wire retainer and places it over the eye to hold the eyelid open. A very powerful ophthalmic microscope is placed over the eye to be operated while looking through the microscope and the doctor makes a small incision around the edge of the cornea to gain access to the lens. The surgeon cuts through the front portion of the lens and removes the cataract; the black portion of the transparent lens capsule is left in place, to support the intraocular lens. Another type of cataract surgery is phacoemulsification, which uses high-frequency sound waves to liquefy the cataract and the remaining portion of the lens. The remnants of the cataract and the lens are sucked out by a vacuum device look-alike such as a small vacuum cleaner. This process also preserves the lens capsule and helps support the plastic lens implant. After cataract is removed by any of the techniques described above, the doctor places a plastic lens in the location that was occupied by the natural lens. The lens implant is held inspace by 2 spring like fibers. Sutures are used to close the incision. The entire cataract surgery takes about 35-45 minutes to complete.
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| Category |
Surgery
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| Related Searches |
cataract eye surgery, cataract laser surgery |
| Date Submitted |
30-Aug-2005
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