What to do if you have cataracts

Cataracts often occur in the elderly, because most cataracts are ophthalmic diseases that will affect vision and may even lead to the risk of glaucoma, myopia, and blindness. Therefore, everyone needs to pay attention to it in normal times. You can consider surgical treatment after suffering from cataracts, but surgery also has risks. The treatment method should be selected based on the examination and diagnosis of the disease.

1. Which cataracts can be considered for surgery?

All types of cataracts can be treated with surgery as long as they affect vision and disrupt daily life. 1 Immature cataract or mature cataract; 2 Glaucoma cataract or cataract after glaucoma surgery; 3 Diabetic cataract; 4 Moderate and severe myopia cataract; 5 Traumatic cataract; 6 Congenital cataract; 7 Complicated cataract caused by other reasons.

When is the right time to have cataract surgery?

Cataracts are a common disease among the elderly, but many elderly people do not want to undergo surgery after learning that they have the disease. "Some patients are afraid of surgery, so they buy some medicines advertised on the market and use them for several courses according to the instructions. Not only do they not work, but they can't see clearly anymore. In the end, they have to come to the hospital for surgery. Such examples are very common in clinical practice." In the past, due to limitations in medical technology, cataracts had to wait until they were fully "mature" and the affected eye could no longer see before surgery could be performed, and patients had to endure the annoyance and pain of low vision for a long time. Nowadays, with the application and development of cataract phacoemulsification combined with intraocular lens implantation, the safety and effectiveness of cataract surgery have been greatly improved. Patients do not have to wait until they are completely blind to undergo surgery, and early surgery does not increase the surgical risk for experienced physicians. Cataract surgery is not complicated. The whole process only takes a dozen minutes. It is neither painful nor scary. "We once successfully performed surgery on a 100-year-old man. Therefore, the elderly should first overcome their psychological fears. Secondly, if they have diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, they should control their blood pressure and blood sugar first, and then undergo surgery. When should the surgery be performed? For different patients, the results will be different if the surgery is performed earlier or later. At present, in developed countries, patients undergo surgery when their vision is 0.6 or above in order to obtain a driver's license. Generally, we believe that surgical treatment can be considered when the patient's vision is 0.4-0.5 after wearing appropriate glasses. The main surgical method at present is phacoemulsification, which has a small incision of 2~3mm, does not require sutures, and has a fast recovery after surgery, less astigmatism, and fewer complications.

3. Is there an age limit for cataract surgery? As China enters an aging society, more and more elderly people need cataract surgery due to improved living standards. There is no uniform medical limit on the maximum age for cataract surgery. Some patients' families believe that people over 90 years old are too dangerous to undergo surgery. Actually, it is not. Some elderly people are in good physical condition, with stable blood pressure and heart conditions. Cataract surgery currently mostly uses local eye anesthesia or anesthetics (surface anesthesia), which causes little pain, so most of them can withstand the surgery. We once successfully performed surgery on a 100-year-old man. His vision improved from being blind before the surgery to 0.8 after the surgery, which greatly improved his quality of life. The old painter Su Juxian lived to be 114 years old and was 104 years old when he underwent cataract surgery. Therefore, whether one can withstand cataract surgery does not depend on age but on the patient's physical condition.