Is my cataract reversible? This is a common question asked of our surgeons at Elmquist Eye Group. Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse a cataract. Surgery is the only remedy, but cataract surgery is very effective and very safe. You will be just fine in the trusted care of Elmquist. We perform eye cataract surgery in Cape Coral.
Do I have a cataract?
Has your vision become blurrier over time? Do colors seem faded? If you answered yes to one or both questions, you might have a cataract. The condition is common in people over age 60. Eye proteins break down as part of the body’s natural aging process. The proteins clump onto the lens, causing light to scatter rather than focus on the lens. This scattering of light creates difficulties with night driving, glare from sunlight or bright lights and low-light reading that so many of our patients with cataracts experience.
We treat several different kinds of cataracts. The most common form occurs in the center of the eye (nuclear sclerotic cataracts). Another type of cataract is a posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC); these form on the back of the eye lens and are common in diabetes patients. With the growing diabetes epidemic, our surgeons are seeing quite a few more patients with PSC cataracts. With a PSC cataract, patients have trouble with night driving due to the halo formation around oncoming headlights.
Cataracts range in severity. In the early stages, people rarely notice the cataract. They can’t be seen in the mirror and there are no symptoms. In fact, cataracts are often first detected in an annual eye exam. As the proteins continue to deposit onto the lens, people often begin experiencing the above-described vision problems.
Tests and treatment
If you are over age 60, we recommend an annual eye exam with added tests for cataract detection. We will dilate your eyes so that we can look thoroughly at the lens and internal eye structures. We perform additional tests like the slit lamp test to observe the lens.
Early on, we can adjust your eyeglasses or contact lens prescription more frequently to account for the vision changes caused by the protein deposits. The only permanent treatment for a cataract is surgery, which we recommend when the cataract becomes significant enough to interfere with vision. Examples are reading difficulty and night driving issues.
Our expert surgeons will discuss the procedure and your expectations of the surgery. We will definitely let you know what to expect and what the recovery will be like.
An Elmquist Evaluation
Cataracts are not reversible but the surgery is safe, fast and painless. You’re in South Florida so you are lucky to have the experienced Cape Coral eye cataract surgery team of Elmquist Eye Group near you. We are the best surgeons in the area, and we want to see you at either one of our convenient locations in Fort Myers or Cape Coral. Give us a call today!