Do I Need Cataract Surgery?

Though painless, cataracts block the passage of light to the retina and cause vision problems. If you are experiencing symptoms, reaching out to an ophthalmologist can restore your vision.

What are Cataracts?

Cataracts are painless, cloudy areas in the lens of the eye that block the passage of light to your retina. They cause vision problems and can lead to mild to severe decreased vision.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of cataracts include blurry or hazy vision. Other symptoms include:

• seeing double or a ghosted image
• extra sensitivity to light
• trouble seeing at night
• needing more light when reading
• seeing bright colors as faded or yellow

If you notice a change in your vision, or are experiencing symptoms, reach out to your optometrist for treatment options and a potential referral to your ophthalmologist.

Getting Cataract Surgery

If you have cataracts, the only way to restore your vision is by having cataract surgery. However, in most cases, waiting to have cataract surgery will not harm your eyes. You may be referred to an ophthalmologist for cataract surgery evaluation if your vision loss gets in the way of everyday activities such as reading or driving or if they need to treat other eye conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, or age-related macular degeneration.

During cataract surgery, your ophthalmologist will remove the cloudy lens from your eye and replace it with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens, or IOL. If you have cataracts in both eyes, surgery will be done on each eye at separate times.

After surgery, your vision may be blurry at first as your eye heals and adjusts. Your eyes typically heal from cataract surgery in four to six weeks.

Sources: Dr. Andrew Baldwin, American Academy of Ophthalmology, National Eye Institute