What is Cataract?

Cataract, also known as the disease of old age, is a type of eye disease that seriously affects the quality of life as well as eye health. Cataract occurs with signs such as double vision, blurred vision, and deterioration of night vision, causing a decrease in vision over time. This disease, which affects your living standards, needs to be treated. Contrary to most known diseases, it can be said that a medical treatment of cataract with drugs is not possible.

It is performed with a surgical operation as the only treatment of cataract disease. Today, this surgery is performed with laser and with very advanced technologies. The most important point here is that the patient who will have cataract surgery is recommended to have an ophthalmologist who is an expert in this field. This surgery, which is directly proportional to the cataract surgery experience of the ophthalmologist, can be performed and treated during the day. This should be done by the best doctors, in the best and sterile environment.

What is Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery is performed to correct cataract-related vision loss. During surgery, the dulled lens inside your eye is replaced with a clear artificial lens. Cataract surgery itself is painless. A normal cataract surgery does not take long, it takes about 15 minutes. It is usually an outpatient procedure and does not require a hospital stay. Although it may sound scary at first, cataract surgery is one of the safest and most effective surgical visual procedures performed today. An average of 500,000 cataract surgeries are performed each year in Turkey, and most of them result in perfect vision.

The need for cataract surgery increases with age, as the cataract progresses or worsens. According to US National Institutes of Health (USE) data, only about 5% of people aged 50 to 54 have cataracts, but it is said to affect about 50% of people aged 75 to 79 and almost 70% of those over 80.

Who should have cataract surgery?

As we mentioned before, it is not possible to treat cataract disease without surgery, medication or any other medical procedure. The only treatment method is surgery. If you do not feel any discomfort that reduces your quality of life, you do not need to have surgery. However, cataract surgeries have situations that require emergency surgery in advanced eye disorders. If the cataract has progressed, it may dissipate in the eye. When such a thing is encountered, it is necessary to undergo surgery in order not to face a problem such as blindness. Also, emergency surgery should be performed in congenital cataract disease.

Except for these situations, the fact that cataract surgery is not needed urgently does not mean that it will not happen in later ages. As it reduces the quality of life of the person, it can also create inefficiency in business life. If there are symptoms such as not being able to notice the potholes while walking on the road, scattering of the lights while driving, and excessive dimming of the night lamps, the person should go to a specialist doctor immediately and perform the examinations.

Is there a risk of cataract surgery?

Like any eye surgery, cataract surgery carries risks. However, the success rate of the surgery is very high despite the risks it carries. With today's technologies, cataract surgery methods have been developed and they are performed with micro incisions and without stitches. After cataract surgery performed by a specialist surgeon, the patient can quickly return to his daily life. As we have mentioned before, it is of great importance that cataract surgery is performed by specialist physicians. That's why you should be careful when choosing a hospital.

What should be considered after cataract surgery?

· After cataract surgery, the patient should be fed with light foods.

· Heavy loads should not be lifted for 1 week after the operation.

· The person who had the surgery should not drive after the surgery.

· It is possible to take a shower as long as the water does not touch the eyes.

· After the operation, pressure should not be applied to the eye and should be protected from impacts.

· On the first day after the operation, the eyes can be blurred and it is definitely normal.