Intraocular lenses
Cataract surgery will help stop this aging and regain sight and the procedure almost always includes the placement of an artificial lens or intraocular lens (IOL) in the eye.
When the lens is removed, usually during cataract or phaco-refractive surgery, when the eye loses its transparency and / or its ability to focus.
To compensate for this loss of lens function, intraocular lenses are used, which are implanted during the same cataract or phaco-refractive surgery procedure as the case may be.
Types of intraocular lenses
Single vision lenses
They are the most common intraocular lenses, these lenses retain fixation only in a single distance, which is generally adjusted for far distance, which allows very good vision in the distance, but eyeglass correction is needed to correct focus at close distance in activities such as reading.
Toric lenses
These lenses are capable of correcting astigmatism. This refractive error can sometimes cause blurred vision, or even double vision, at both near and far distances. These lenses require to be placed at a specific angle within the eye to successfully correct astigmatism, so they require special prior measurements for placement.
Multifocal lenses
These lenses allow focus on far, intermediate and near distance. They usually have defined focus points, to which a rapid adaptation process is required. These lenses tend to significantly improve vision at all distances, mainly in people with presbyopia or cataract, however, in a minority of cases they may initially present the phenomenon of halos or flashes in the visual field, which are transient in the visual field. the vast majority of patients who present it.
The decision about which type of lens to use in each case is made in conjunction with the patient after considering the condition of their eye and their visual expectations after treatment.
The procedure
The phacoemulsification procedure (cataract surgery) or phaco-refractive surgery is technically the same procedure, the difference is that in the case of cataract surgery, the lens already has a sufficient loss of transparency to cause visual discomfort to the patient; in the case of phaco-refractive surgery, accommodation capacity is what is most affected. In both cases, an intraocular lens is implanted, and in the case of refractive phaco surgery, a multifocal lens tends to be used.
The procedure consists of making a small incision in the periphery of the cornea through which small instruments are inserted that emit high-frequency ultrasound that help dissolve the lens tissue, the natural lens of the eye, to later be removed by aspiration.
The phacoemulsification procedure is a painless, short-term outpatient procedure. It normally lasts 30-35 minutes per eye, and is performed in the vast majority of cases under local anesthesia, applying drops to numb the eye only; however, if necessary, other methods of anesthesia can be used to make the procedure as safe and comfortable for the patient.
The procedure requires that the patient have 6-8 hours of fasting prior to the procedure, and they are asked to attend about 1 hour prior to surgery for their admission process and pre-surgical preparation.
After surgery, if the patient is in optimal condition, after 30-45 minutes, he can go home.
Visual improvement tends to be immediate after surgery, but results closer to 100% are expected within 72 hours after surgery.
The patient receives the indications for treatment and care after surgery, which consist of applying eye drops for a few weeks.
Post-surgical follow-up is normally done the next day and a week after surgery.
