Shiley Embarks On The Community Access Project
For Partially Sighted:
Q. I AM 72- YEARS-OLD AND IT SEEMS ALL MY FRIENDS ARE
DEVELOPING CATARACTS. WILL I GET THEM, TOO?
A. Most likely, yes. A cataract is a clouding
of the normally clear lens inside the eye. They cannot be prevented,
nor can their progress be stopped or reversed. Cataracts usually
develop with age, but can also be caused by high blood pressure,
kidney disease, diabetes or trauma to the eye. Leaving the cataract
alone does not hurt the health of the eye.
If you develop a cataract, you may notice a
gradual decrease in your ability to see things clearly at a distance.
This is followed by problems with reading and other activities
requiring close vision. You may feel as though there is a fog
over your eye, and your vision may seem dim. When the lens of
the eye is cloudy, you will have trouble seeing because the image
will be poorly accepted and received by the retina. If a stronger
lens prescription does not help, the way to improve vision is
to have the clouded lens surgically removed and replaced with
an artificial lens called an intraocular lens. Your eye care professional
can perform a simple test, called P.A.M., to show you what the
eye should see if the cataract is removed.
Prior to surgery, every patient is carefully
measured for the correct refractive power of the implanted lens
by a skilled technician using state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment
(pictured above). Cataracts can only be removed surgically. They
cannot be removed with a laser, although lasers may be used in
treatment after surgery. Postoperative patients are able to leave
the surgery facility in under
