Cataract Treatment Methods Now and Then

Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness among people. In fact, cataracts are responsible for causing almost half of all cases of blindness around the world. A cataract is an eye condition characterized by the eye lens getting clouded, impairing eye vision or causing total blindness in the affected eye.

Unfortunately, early signs of cataract formation are very similar to those of other common eye disorders or diseases, like blurry eyesight, extra sensitivity to light, and the regular need to change prescription lenses. This is why a lot of people don’t realize that they have cataracts until the cataracts are fully developed.

Cataract treatment methods have existed since as far back as 500 BC, although these ancient procedures are ineffective and very dangerous. One of the earliest cataract treatment methods is couching, a technique that involves pushing the cloudy part of the lens aside using a curved needle, and then soaking the eye in warm butter before applying a bandage. This has a very low success rate, and there’s a very high chance of the eye getting infected.

Thanks to numerous advancements in the field of eye healthcare, a Texas cataract surgeon can now employ more effective treatment methods to remove cataracts and restore eyesight back to normal. Phacoemulsification, also known as phaco, is the most popular cataract removal procedure today. It safely removes cataracts by using vibrations to separate the clear part of the lens from the cloudy one, which is broken to smaller pieces so it can be flushed out.

If the Texas cataract surgeon can’t remove a cataract using phacoemulsification, he or she can try removing it by performing an extracapsular cataract extraction or ECCE. In this procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision just a little over a centimeter into the patient’s cornea and then pulls out the cataract through the incision using a special instrument that looks like a very fine pair of tweezers.

Today’s cataract removal procedures have very high success rates and are a lot safer than older methods. These have changed cataract removal from a major operation to something comparable to tooth extraction. If you have a cataract, you can visit a Texas cataract surgeon, have your cataract removed, then come home and resume your normal activities in just one day.