Surgical Treatments

Cataract surgery should be considered whenever cataracts cause enough loss of vision to interfere with daily activities. The surgery involves removing the diseased lens and replacing it with a plastic lens implant called an intraocular lens. Your surgeon may choose to use one of the intraocular lenses made by Bausch & Lomb.

What is Cataract Surgery?

The surgery involves removing the diseased lens and replacing it with a plastic lens implant called an intraocular lens. Your surgeon may choose to use one of the intraocular lenses made by Bausch & Lomb. 

How Does it Work?

Typically this operation is done on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia, so you can go home the same day as the surgery. While you will be awake during surgery, you will not have to worry about keeping your eye open -- and you will not be able to see the actual surgery. Although cataracts may develop simultaneously in both eyes, your surgeon will operate on one eye and allow it to heal before operating on the other.

What are my options?

Today you have two options; a standard monofocal IOL or an accommodating lens.  

A standard monofocal IOL is fixed at one point of focus, usually distance. With a standard monofocal lens you will probably need glasses for most activities.

Or you can choose an accommodating lens such as the Crystalens®. Crystalens is an accommodating intraocular lens that, unlike a standard IOL, can treat both a person’s cataracts and presbyopia − the loss of near and intermediate vision. You probably noticed in your forties that you started to lose some of your up-close vision and had to start wearing reading glasses. Crystalens not only treats your cataracts (a clouding or hardening of your lens), but can also reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye’s natural lens. The unique Crystalens can reduce or eliminate glasses for most activities including: reading a book, working on the computer, and driving a car.

Will It Correct Your Vision?

Assuming the eye is otherwise healthy, cataract surgery improves vision in 90% of cases. Cataracts may form again, but not for years, or even decades.