Cataract treatment

In the modern world, the cataract has a special place in the human life, affecting the eyesight, and often resulting in its complete loss.

The cataract is the clouding of the lens of the eye of different density and intensity. Under normal conditions, the lens is transparent from the birth. It does not have vessels and nerve endings and is the optical lens of the eye. It consists of water, mineral substances and proteins that allows us to see well.

The clouding of the lens occurs with each man during different periods of his life and is the physiological process in most cases, except for the congenital and traumatic cataracts.

As our lens is in the intraocular fluid, it diffusively feeds the microelements, vitamins, which get into our organism with food.

Therefore, its transparency depends on many factors such as:

• quality of life;
• nutrition
• working conditions
• traumatic injuries of the eyes
• different inflammatory diseases of the eyes;
• endocrine disorders – diabetes that leads to the metabolic disorder in the whole organism.

The several stages of the cataract are distinguished in case of the change of transparency of the lens:

• initial;
• immature;
• mature;
• hypermature.

Meanwhile, the viewed objects with different stages of the cataract are visualized differently (from ‘blurred’ image of the object to the complete loss of the definition, up to its contours).

The age-related cataract is the most widespread type of the cataract, as in the young age, it is encountered very seldom, only in case of presence of concomitant diseases (uncompensated diabetes, rheumatism, traumas, undergone chemotherapy, impact of toxins, ionizing radiation etc.)

With the swelling cataract, there occurs the disruption of the permeability of the anterior lens capsule, the protein substance of which is soaked in the intraocular fluid and increases in size. In most cases, it results in the phacomorphic glaucoma. At the same time, the glaucoma is secondary, but also leads to the total blindness and thus is not less dangerous. Therefore, the measurement of intraocular pressure and thickness of the lens are recommended for the patients above 40 and in case of appearance of the primary symptoms of the cataract.

The secondary cataract occurs with the clouding of the posterior lens capsule in the patients, who underwent the lens replacement surgery and had the artificial intraocular lens (IOL) implanted. Meanwhile, the percent of clouding varies from several hundredths to several tenths and depends on the material of the intraocular lens. 

The hydrophobic material causes the least clouding of the posterior capsule (hundredths of the percent). That is why in our clinic, the priority is given namely to this material, the global leader in manufacturing of which is ALCON (USA).

To diagnose cataracts and other eye diseases, an ophthalmologist may prescribe the patient:

• visual acuity assessment;
• determination of the visual field;
• measurement of intraocular pressure;
• examination of the fundus;
• keratometry - determination of the radius of curvature of the cornea;
• refractometry - determination of the refractive abilities of the eye;
• assessment of color perception;
• ultrasound of the eyeballs and other examinations as indicated.

The prevention of the quick progression of the cataract is carried out through the conservative method of prescribing the vitamin drops. It helps at the initial stages. When the visual acuity deteriorates, the complications of the cataract appear that leads to the worsening of the quality of person’s life in future.

The removal and implantation of the artificial lens is the only method of treatment of the cataract.

Only the phacoemulsification of the cataract with implantation of the artificial lens (PEC+ posterior chamber intraocular lens) is one of the modern methods of the cataract surgery. In the meantime, it is not always necessarily to wait until the complete clouding of the lens, as it was required previously, with extracapsular extraction (EEC + posterior chamber intraocular lens), as the ultrasound energy is minimal and the surgical treatment is performed mainly on the vacuum of the used machine.

The femtosecond laser performs only the stages of the operation (corneal tunnel incision and anterior capsulorrhexis). And the main part of the operation is performed by using the vacuum and ultrasound, controlled by the surgeon.

The surgery room of OXFORD MEDICAL clinic is fitted with the best microsurgical equipment, which allows successfully coping with the cataracts of any degree of severity as well as minimizing the risk of postoperative complications. The surgeries are performed by using Oertli CataRhex phacoemulsificator of Swiss manufacture under the control of Leica microscope of German manufacture.