PHACO for cataract

About Cataract

There is a natural clear transparent lens in our eye which is of about 20 D. It causes passage and convergence of light rays in the eye to form clear image of an object of interest. When this natural lens looses its transparency and becomes opaque, it is called cataract.These opacities in lens occur because of some irreversible changes in natural lens.

Following are some of the common causes of cataract:

• Ageing
• Diabetes
• U.V. light
• X-ray exposure
• Radiation
• Long term steroid use
• By birth
• Injury
• Eye infections
• Inflammations

Conventional method for cataract extraction

Large 8-10 mm cut is needed to remove a peanut size cataract in total. This large cut needs stitches.

Drawbacks of conventional method are:

• large cut.
• more pain
• stitches
• long recovery period more spectacle dependence after surgery

All these disadvantages can be removed by doing cataract operation by phacoemulsification method.

PHACO Emulsification procedure

By this technique, instead of removing the cataractous lens in toto, it is divided into 4 to 6 pieces with phaco machine probe and these pieces are crushed and sucked out of eye with vaccum. This whole lens is removed out of the eye through just 2.8 mm incision (cut). This cut is also specially designed so that no stitch is needed, and it heals fast

Patient Selection

Any patient having cataract of any stage and having visual disturbance is a candidate for cataract surgery It is not necessary that cataract should be mature. In fact ,earlier it is operated, easier it is to perform phaco surgery on it as it is softer in early stages. Diabetes should be strictly controlled and patient should be physically fit.

INTRAOCULAR (ARTIFICIAL) Lenses

When natural cataractous lens is removed, it has to be replaced with same power artificail lens. The artificial lens has to be of minimum 5.1 mm diameter. To insert this lens our 2.8 mm phaco cut has to be enlarged to 5.1 mm. This cut also heals without stitches. But it reduces the advantages of phaco surgery. Hence, new lenses have been designed which can be folded while inserting into the eye and they unfold inside the eye through 2.8 mm cut

MULTIFOCAL Lenses

Most of the drawbacks of conventional cataract surgery are rectified by phacoemulcification method and foldable lenses and patient can get painless, fast, spectacle free clear vision after phaco cataract surgery. However the patient still needs to wear reading glasses.

This problem is solved by new multifocal foldable lenses. They are specially designed lenses and they reduce the dependence of the patient on glasses for near also. Thus, the dream of spectacle free world comes almost true. Fitting multifocal lenses needs a lot of skill. Dr. Kshipra Aphale does it quite regularly.

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