Cataract Surgery

The lens of the eye is normally transparent.

If a cloudy area develops in the lens, it is called Cataract. When the
amount of light that passes through the lens is reduced and scattered
by the cataract, images are not focused properly on the retina at the
back of the eye. The result is that vision becomes increasingly poor.

The lens is contained within a clear membrane called the lens capsule.
The lens capsule separates the lens from the iris and the transparent,
thick fluid called the vitreous body.

Cataract formation affects only the lens of the eye and not any of the
other important structures, such as the cornea, iris, retina, or optic
nerve.

A cataract will often worsen to the point where surgery is needed to
remove the cloudy lens and replace it with a permanent artificial lens.

Removal of a cataract is the most common eye operation and one of
the most common surgical procedures performed in Australia and New
Zealand. It has a high rate of success due to the modern methods used
by ophthalmologists.

If the eye is healthy, the likelihood is that cataract surgery will restore
good vision. Of every 100 operations to remove a cataract, 95 will result
in significantly improved vision. Despite the proven benefits of modern
cataract surgery, there are risks.

With older surgical methods, both the lens and the capsule were removed.
With modern methods, however, the capsule is preserved. This is a sig-
nificant advance in surgical technique because:

• the capsule is used to position the artificial lens
• risks of surgery are fewer
• vision following surgery is usually better.