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Seeing Beyond Cataracts
Most folks are surprised to learn they have developed a cataract in one or both eyes. The drop in vision is usually very gradual, that is, until the person cannot get their driver's license renewed!
Before consenting to undergo surgery curious (or skeptical) patients ask how the surgeon can accurately attribute the vision drop to the cloudy lens. Maybe there's a tumor, bleeding, a detached retina. Put another way, 'How do you know that the rest of the eye is healthy; how can I be sure that I will see better after cataract surgery?' Good question!
New technology permits doctors to carefully examine the complete eye even if a dense cataract is present. Although the patient has difficulty seeing out, the eye surgeon is usually able to see inside the eye - behind that cataractous lens. Maybe you've been exposed to the eye doctor's bright head lamp during an exam called indirect ophthalmoscopy. Oh yeah, there's plenty to see when there is adequate illumination.
For dense cataracts noninvasive ocular ultrasound ( two types: A-scans and B-scans) apply the same physics used to examine a pregnant mother's womb. It can reveal all kinds of changes that might be obscured by an opaque lens.
Gadgets aside, don't neglect the value of a good old-fashioned eye exam. Simple tests like pupil responses and color discrimination provide powerful information. For example, if an optic nerve problem was actually responsible for a patient's poor eyesight, more so than the cataract, then the pupil in the affected eye would behave abnormally.
Sad discoveries after cataract surgery occur far less often compared to a generation ago. Before scheduling cataract extraction the experienced eye surgeon always reflects, "Have I proven to myself that cataract alone is responsible for this patient's decreased vision?"
Related Topics: Cataract Surgery, Cataract Awareness
Before consenting to undergo surgery curious (or skeptical) patients ask how the surgeon can accurately attribute the vision drop to the cloudy lens. Maybe there's a tumor, bleeding, a detached retina. Put another way, 'How do you know that the rest of the eye is healthy; how can I be sure that I will see better after cataract surgery?' Good question!
New technology permits doctors to carefully examine the complete eye even if a dense cataract is present. Although the patient has difficulty seeing out, the eye surgeon is usually able to see inside the eye - behind that cataractous lens. Maybe you've been exposed to the eye doctor's bright head lamp during an exam called indirect ophthalmoscopy. Oh yeah, there's plenty to see when there is adequate illumination.
For dense cataracts noninvasive ocular ultrasound ( two types: A-scans and B-scans) apply the same physics used to examine a pregnant mother's womb. It can reveal all kinds of changes that might be obscured by an opaque lens.
Gadgets aside, don't neglect the value of a good old-fashioned eye exam. Simple tests like pupil responses and color discrimination provide powerful information. For example, if an optic nerve problem was actually responsible for a patient's poor eyesight, more so than the cataract, then the pupil in the affected eye would behave abnormally.
Sad discoveries after cataract surgery occur far less often compared to a generation ago. Before scheduling cataract extraction the experienced eye surgeon always reflects, "Have I proven to myself that cataract alone is responsible for this patient's decreased vision?"
Related Topics: Cataract Surgery, Cataract Awareness
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