The lens of your eye is the focal fine tuner of your vision. After the cornea bends about 70% of the light entering your eye, the lens changes shape as needed to provide the remaining 30% of refraction. The lens of your eye has one of the highest concentrations of protein in your body and, normally, it’s crystal clear and transparent.
Over time and after injury, however, these proteins can change and break down, jeopardizing the transparency of the lens. While it usually takes years, the lens can become cloudy enough to compromise your vision, resulting in a condition called cataracts.
At Advanced Lasik, Dr. Randa Garrana performs laser cataract surgery to restore your vision by removing and replacing a clouded lens, using a range of technologies to match the procedure to your needs. Visit us in the Midtown East section of New York City or Long Beach, California, if cataracts are interfering with your vision.
You won’t notice when a cataract first begins to form. They may affect only a small portion of your vision, and your brain compensates for these small changes. As cataracts progress, you may begin to notice trouble seeing at night, or you might become sensitive to light or glare, with halos appearing around light sources.
Colors may seem faded or yellow, and you may find yourself seeking out brighter light often. Eventually, your vision reaches a point where there’s no mistaking that you’re not seeing as well as you used to. Usually, both eyes develop cataracts — but not always at the same rate.
When cataracts are sufficiently advanced, surgery is necessary to remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial intraocular lens that’s permanently implanted in your eye. Cataract surgery is common and safe. If both eyes require treatment, the second eye is typically treated after the first eye has fully healed.
Dr. Garrana offers both traditional and laser-assisted cataract care. She can even combine cataract surgery with refractive vision correction procedures.
When it’s appropriate, Dr. Garrana recommends the CATALYS® Precision Laser System to take advantage of computer-aided laser precision.
Traditional cataract surgery uses blades for the incisions needed to access and remove the cloudy lens. CATALYS creates a digital map of the eye as the basis for guiding the laser incisions with a level of precision unmatched by manual methods. Computer control means the procedure can be planned in advance, before the first cut is made.
The accuracy of the lens incision improves the quality of the intraocular lens placement, which in turn improves the precision of any vision correction aspects of your procedure. CATALYS can also fragment the cloudy lens to aid removal, reducing the stress on the eye itself and speeding your recovery after surgery.
Since Dr. Garrana removes your natural lens regardless of which cataract procedure she performs, there’s no longer any natural tissue or proteins to deteriorate. Replacement lenses are synthetic and they won’t cloud over.
Some people do develop a so-called “secondary cataract” that causes clouding, but this problem — called posterior capsular opacification — occurs within the tissue that supports the lens, and it’s not a true cataract. It’s easily treated with a quick laser procedure.
Are cataracts clouding your vision? Our Advanced Lasik team is ready to help you restore clear vision. Call or click online to schedule a visit with Dr. Garrana at your nearest office in New York City or Long Beach, California, today.
