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CATARACT SURGERY
A Patient's Guide To Cataract Treatment
by Robert K. Maloney, M.D, Inc. Addicus books Omaha, Nebraska |
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Introduction |
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Of all the amazing components of the human anatomy, the eyes may be the most marvelous.They are your primary tools of awareness.
The ability to see allows you independence,mobility, and appreciation of visual beauty and form.
If your vision is starting to blur and you think you might have cataracts, put your mind at ease.Cataracts are usually painless, and they are not
harmful to other parts of your eyes.
They're not a sign of disease, nor are they "growths." They are simply clouding of the lens of the eye.
In most cases, cataracts are as normal a part of
aging as the "silver threads among the gold" (in the
words of an old song) that appear when your hair
begins to gray.
Cataracts develop so gradually that you
probably won't need any treatment for them at first.
A stronger eyeglass prescription will likely help in
the early stages. Eventually, your vision will become
blurrier, some things will seem out of focus, and
you'll need new prescriptions more often. Objects
might appear yellowish. Glare or halos from light
sources could make night driving difficult. You
might have trouble reading, both close up and at a
distance-fine print in a book, for example, and
street signs along the highway. When these
symptoms interfere with your day-to-day activities,
you may want to consider surgery.
By age sixty-five, most Americans have
early-stage cataracts, and, by age eighty, most have
had cataract surgery. Surgeons perform some 3
million cataract operations a year in the United
States, with a very high success rate and few complications.
In many parts of the world, modern cataract
surgery is not readily available. Nearly 1 percent of
Earth's population is blind, and cataracts cause about
half of these cases. Dedicated physicians and
public-health professionals regularly donate their
time and services to treat cataracts and to purify
contaminated water supplies, since parasites are a
leading cause of vision loss where fresh, clean water
is unavailable.
Thus, we are doubly fortunate to live in a time
and a place where outpatient surgery, which takes
just minutes, can painlessly replace a clouded
natural lens with a state-of-the-art synthetic lens.
Within a day or two of your surgery, you'll marvel at
how clear and vivid your world has become. And
you'll never take your eyesight for granted again.
In the United States, cataract surgery is among
the most effective and safest surgical procedures
performed-especially in the hands of a highly
qualified and experienced eye surgeon. Replacement
lenses do an excellent job of restoring vision
(with or without glasses, depending on the type of
lens implanted). Recovery is rapid-you can resume
most of your normal activities within a few days.
This book describes how the healthy eye
functions, how cataracts can interfere with clear
eyesight, and how clarity can be restored. It explains
all your options if cataracts are starting to cloud your
vision and it can help you and your doctor
determine the right time for surgery.
You, or someone you care about, might find
great reassurance in the knowledge that cataracts
can be safely and successfully treated and that, once
removed, cataracts do not return. Advances in
cataract surgery have made it possible for millions of
people to enjoy the independence and the aesthetic
pleasure of clear vision for decades beyond what
was once possible. |
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