What are Cataracts?
Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop in the lens of an eye. The lens should normally be clear. But, with cataracts, the affected lens becomes like frosted glass. Cataracts are not a skin that forms over the eye or lens. A cataract is a gradual change in the structure of the lens in an eye, which makes it gradually more and more cloudy.
What are Cataracts?
Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop in the lens of an eye. The lens should normally be clear. But, with cataracts, the affected lens becomes like frosted glass. Cataracts are not a skin that forms over the eye or lens. A cataract is a gradual change in the structure of the lens in an eye, which makes it gradually more and more cloudy.
Cataract Surgery
During cataract surgery, your cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens implant. Cataract surgery is performed on a day-case basis, either with a locally injected anaesthetic or with anaesthetic eye drops.
Premium Intraocular Lenses
Toric Intraocular Lenses
During cataract surgery, Mr Lam can use a toric lens implant to reduce your astigmatism. Reducing astigmatism will reduce your reliance on glasses and allow you better distance vision without the need for glasses. With a toric lens implant you will still need to use glasses for reading.Multifocal Intraocular Lenses
During your cataract operation, Mr Lam can replace your cataract with a premium multifocal intraocular lens. If you choose this option, a trifocal intraocular lens implants will be used to improve your vision. These lenses have 3 points of focus i.e. for far, intermediate (70cm) and short distances (40cm). They can eliminate the need for glasses for activities such as computer work, reading a book, driving a car, seeing the dashboard on a car and playing sports. The intermediate distance is used for working on a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Occasionally some patients do need glasses for finer work following intraocular lens surgery, but the majority are extremely happy with the results.
Toric Multifocal Intraocular Lenses
A toric multifocal lens combines the benefits of a toric intraocular lens and a a multifocal lens to correct for astigmatism and also to provide a greater degree of freedom from glasses.
What is Astigmatism?
Normally, the cornea and lens are smooth and curved equally in all directions, helping to focus light rays sharply onto the retina at the back of your eye. Sometimes, the cornea at the front of the eye is not perfectly rounded but it may have a bigger curve in one direction than another, like a rugby ball. This difference in curvature is called astigmatism. Light rays coming through the cornea and lens are not focused on to one sharp spot on the retina. This lack of ‘point focus’ means that images received by the brain are blurred. Astigmatism is very common (about 9 in 10 people have some degree of astigmatism). In some cases, special treatments or a toric intraocular lens can be used to reduce astigmatism.