In a new article for French weekly magazine Femme Actuelle, Dr Stéphanie Zwillinger talks about cataract surgery: is it mandatory ? Why carry out this surgery? Are there other solutions to cure this eye condition? Continue reading to get some answers, and discover the article at the end of the page!
Why have cataract surgery?
With age, your crystalline lens will become less and less transparent. This progressive and natural opacity of this part of the eye does not cause any pain. However, cataracts can make daily life more difficult, and even cause vision loss.
On average, people aged 75 or over are affected by this surgery, but cataracts can also affect children (congenital cataract) as well as adults in certain cases.
In order to maintain your autonomy, it is important to regularly carry out an ophthalmological check-up, but also to carry out cataract surgery if this is considered necessary by your ophthalmologist.
The aim of cataract surgery is to replace the cataractous crystalline lens with a synthetic, transparent lens. This, once installed, remains in place for the rest of the patient’s life.
When is cataract surgery necessary?
Dr. Stéphanie Zwillinger informs you that cataract surgery is the only treatment that can cure cataract. Since aging of the lens is a normal development, there is no medical treatment such as medication or eye drops to cure cataracts .
Cataract surgery is performed on an outpatient basis, under a surgical microscope. The lens will be removed and then replaced with an implant.
Cataract is a pathology that evolves progressively: vision declines over the time, and sometimes this evolution is imperceptible to the patient. However, there is no absolute rule to define the timing of cataract surgery.
We did not discuss other matters such as the causes and symptoms of cataract or how the surgery is done. Find all the key information given by Dr Stéphanie Zwillinger in the article (in French) from Femme Actuelle below!