Cataract and Cataract Surgery

  Light sensitivity

  Need more light when you read

  Harder seeing street signs until up close

  Frequent changes in eyeglass prescription

  Cannot follow the golf ball after hitting it

If you experience one or more symptoms, you should schedule an examination with SEE RIGHT NOW with TIMOTHY PEROZEK, MD.

Light Scatter

Blurry / Cloudy Vision

WHAT IS CATARACT SURGERY

Cataract surgery is performed to improve vision by replacing the clouded lens with an artificial one. Cataracts affect millions of people in the United States each year. Cataract surgery is commonly performed and considered safe and effective.

We perform a stitch-free, pain-free surgery by using numbing eye drops for anesthesia. The procedure is performed using an ultrasound-driven instrument that “sonically” breaks up the cataract (phacoemulsification) as it is suctioned out of the eye. Our surgeon utilizes a microscopic incision that allows for a quicker recovery and eliminates the need for stitches, as the very small incision seals on its own. After your surgery, you will use eye drops multiple times a day as prescribed by Dr. Perozek.

The Cataract Surgery
Procedure

After the pupil is dilated, and the area in and around the eye is numbed with anesthesia from an eye drop, a tiny incision is made to insert an ultrasonic probe. The probe emulsifies (breaks up) the cloudy lens into tiny pieces that are then suctioned out of the eye. Once the cloudy lens has been removed, an artificial lens is implanted.

You are awake for the surgery but relaxed and not nervous from the IV medication given to you by the anesthesiologist.

Risks Of Cataract Surgery

Although cataract surgery is a common procedure and considered quite safe, any surgery poses risks. In the case of cataract surgery, there is a slightly increased risk of retinal detachment, a painless but dangerous condition. Other risks of cataract surgery include bleeding and infection. The risk of complications after cataract surgery is greater if the patient has another eye disease or serious medical condition. Danger signs of complications after cataract surgery include increased pain in or redness of the eye, light flashes or floaters, diminished vision, nausea, vomiting or intense coughing.

Recovery From Cataract Surgery

Immediately after surgery, an eye shield is worn at night to prevent from accidently rubbing the eye. Vision may be blurry at first due to swelling, just like walking is harder after knee surgery– not easier, but improves that first week. Some itching and discomfort are also present for a few days, but it is important that a patient not rub or exert pressure on the treated eye. Heavy lifting, swimming, and eye makeup should be avoided. Eye drops to prevent infection and clear up inflammation are used a few days before surgery and for about a month after surgery. Once the first eye recovers, then the second eye is done.

Custom Cataract Surgery

With custom cataract surgery the goal is to improve vision even more than traditionally done and decrease dependence on glasses or bifocals. The majority of patients who choose custom cataract surgery report that they can read a book or magazine, work on the computer, drive in daylight or night, play golf and tennis with increased freedom from glasses. Custom cataract surgery addresses two conditions: astigmatism and presbyopia.

Astigmatism Correcting Intraocular Lenses

When the surface of the cornea has an uneven curvature, vision becomes distorted. This irregularity is called corneal astigmatism. A person who has both a cataract and corneal astigmatism will not have clear distance vision after cataract surgery unless the astigmatism is also corrected. At the time of the cataract surgery, your surgeon can choose a special astigmatism correcting intraocular lens called a Toric intraocular lens. This is an implantable lens that makes it possible to treat the cataract and correct corneal astigmatism at the same time. This lens corrects more distortion than the traditional lens covered by insurance. This toric lens makes it such that you have good distance vision and only need over-the-counter glasses for near tasks such computer and reading. Most patients pass a driver’s test without glasses, drive without glasses day and night, watch TV without glasses and exercise without glasses!

Presbyopia Correcting Intraocular Lenses

Presbyopia is an age-related condition that most people over the age of 40 experience. This condition results in the difficulty seeing up close without bifocals or reading glasses. Patients who have traditional cataract surgery with standard monofocal intraocular lenses develop “instant presbyopia”, because these intraocular lenses focus at only one distance. Most patients usually need glasses for near and intermediate distance. By choosing custom cataract with a presbyopia correcting intraocular lens however, patients are usually much less dependent on glasses or bifocals at all distances. If you are considering cataract surgery, you may be a candidate for custom cataract surgery with a presbyopic correcting intraocular lens that can provide a full range of vision. This means that one may see clearly at distance, near and in-between with little or no dependence on bifocals or reading glasses. There are several types of presbyopia correcting intraocular lenses– which are referred to as multifocal lenses. Dr. Perozek will take careful measurements of your eye and discuss with you your lifestyle needs. You and your surgeon will then decide together which lens is the best for you.

Laser Cataract Surgery
IN LAS VEGAS

Steps Replaced By Laser

Entry incisions:

The first step in cataract surgery is to make small incisions in the eye. In laser cataract surgery, these incisions are made by the femtosecond laser rather than by the traditional hand-held blade. The laser is programmed to make the precise incisions based on the individual’s corneal anatomy. As of today, Dr. Perozek still prefers using the blade to hand craft the incisions; however, as technology advances, he predicts almost all aspects of cataract surgery will be replaced with the laser.

Astigmatism correction:

If the patient has any pre-existing astigmatism, the laser can now be used to correct it making very precise incisions in the periphery of the cornea. Dr. Perozek uses Toric lenses to correct the astigmatism and the laser is used for small fine tuning.

Capsulorhexis:

In order to remove a cataract, the anterior portion of the lens capsule, which surrounds the cataract-affected lens, must be removed. In the traditional cataract surgery technique, the surgeon removes the anterior capsule (termed “capsulorhexis”) utilizing a special handheld forceps. It is important that the capsulorhexis be centered over the lens to ensure proper centration of the lens implant. With the Catalys Precision Laser Platform, the laser is able to center the capsulorhexis with a computerized picture before the start of the surgery. This ensures a perfectly centered lens implant and ensures a perfectly sized opening which helps center the lens implant which improves the vision after surgery. Dr. Perozek believes this step alone justifies the upgrade to Laser Cataract surgery. The laser really shows its value for this critical step of surgeries which surgeons view as the most difficult maneuver to perform by hand. Sometimes this is the only step in the procedure used by surgeons with the laser as it is seen as the most valuable.

Lens fragmentation:

To learn more about the Laser Cataract Surgery (femtocataract surgery) Dr. Timothy Perozek offers Las Vegas, please contact our office to make an appointment. SEE RIGHT NOW with TIMOTHY PEROZEK, MD will be more than happy to determine whether you qualify for this advanced and revolutionary procedure.