Julien's Journal May 2016 (Volume 41, Number 5) | Page 42

The cloudy lens is removed (phacoemulsification).

A clear artificial lens is implanted into the empty lens bag.

Intracular lens (IOL) in place.

New Advances in Cataract Surgery
by Kent W. Baumann, M.D., Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Associates Clinic

I

f you or someone you care for has
been diagnosed with cataracts, you’re
certainly not alone – cataracts are
a natural part of the aging process,
and they affect more than 20.5 million Americans over 40. By the age
of 80, more than 50% of Americans
will have visually significant cataracts. Due
to the number of people affected by the
disease each year, cataract surgery is now
the most common eye surgery performed
in the United States with more than three
million surgeries performed annually.
What is a cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens
38  ❖  Julien’s Journal  ❖  May 2016

in our eyes which develops over time due
to a buildup of protein in the lens. Usually
formed in adults over the age of 40, cataracts can also be found in infants and young
people as a result of an infection, or as a result of injury to the eye. Patients with cataracts often experience problems driving or
seeing at night, vision that is cloudy, blurry,
or foggy, and even experience changes in
the way they see color.
What is cataract surgery?
Thanks to innovative medical advances,
cataract surgery is a common outpatient
procedure. The goal of the operation is to
break the cloudy cataract-affected lens

into easily removable pieces, remove those
pieces and insert an artificial intraocular
lens (IOL) to replace the natural lens. Traditionally, surgeons have accomplished this
by making tiny incisions in the eye using a
surgical knife.
New advances in cataract surgery
Today, patients have a choice; there’s
manual surgery, and there is also a bladeless procedure assisted by advanced laser
technology.
With laser-assisted cataract surgery, surgeons are able to remove cataracts with
precision utilizing the femtosecond laser
– the same laser technology used in LASIK