Can cataracts be cured pharmacologically?
Medication in the form of drops prescribed in the initial stage of cataracts will not make the effects of the disease reverse, nor stop its progression. Cataract drops can only slightly, temporarily improve visual acuity and act as a lubricant and protective agent that will prevent damage to the eye and injury to the lens while waiting for surgery to remove it.
No eye enhancement pills or supplements (such as lutein) work on cataracts. N-acetylcysteine amides (an antioxidant), already tested on animals that had been given a solution that caused symptoms of the disease, slowed the development of cataracts in them, but unfortunately did not cause the disease to regress.
An educational campaign conducted in 2017 by Alcon to promote knowledge and negate myths about cataracts showed that up to 40% of people at risk of or already suffering from cataracts still believe in the existence of alternative, non-surgical cataract treatments.
Meanwhile, the only effective way to eliminate cataracts is through surgery to remove them. Until recently, only mature cataracts were operated on, but now ophthalmologists take the position that cataract surgery is advisable even in the early stages, as long as the visual impairment is severe enough to impede daily functioning.
The procedure, known as “removal” or “removal” of cataracts, simply involves removing the patient’s own opaque lens from the eye and implanting an artificial lens. This removal can be done by phacoemulsification or femtoemulsification. You can read about the difference between the treatments here.
In a private clinic, in addition to the absolute medical indications, the individual needs of the patient are always taken into account in the calculation of the implantable lens when planning cataract surgery. During cataract surgery not only short- or farsightedness can be corrected, but also astigmatism and presbyopia. Thus, in the case of choosing PREMIUM lenses, in addition to cataract removal, the patient can count on very good visual acuity for distance, near (35-40 cm) and intermediate distance (60-90 cm).
Only standard monofocal lenses are offered at facilities performing cataract surgery under the National Health Service.
Can cataracts recur after surgery to remove my own cloudy lens?
The removed native lens does not grow back, so there is no risk that the cataract will return. Quite often, however, there is a condition of turbidity of the posterior capsule, where the artificial lens is placed, and a so-called secondary cataract develops. This posterior capsule is nothing more than a remnant of the patient’s own lens, which can become less translucent over time. The problem can be corrected by doing a quick and painless laser procedure, after which vision returns as it was right after cataract surgery.
