Cataracts cannot be treated with glasses or medication, the only treatment is surgery.
SURGERY METHODS
- PKE (EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT EXTRACTION (STITCHED CATARACT SURGERY): It is the old method that is not preferred today except in very hard and complicated cases. In this method, the cataract is expected to mature and harden. A large incision of 11-12 mm is made in the upper quadrant of the cornea. The eye is squeezed from both sides and the hardened cataract lens is taken out of the eye and an artificial lens is placed in the remaining capsule. The incision is closed with sutures. In this technique, the anatomical structure of the eye is disrupted due to the large incision, high astigmatism occurs due to the large incision and stitches and the healing time is long.
- PHACOEMULSIFICATION (PHACO) (STITCHLESS CATARACT SURGERY): It is the gold standard method routinely used in cataract surgery today. In this method, the eye is entered through a very small incision (1.8-2.2 mm) and the opacified lens capsule, which has lost its transparency, is opened in a round shape and the cataract is broken down in the lens capsule by ultrasonic sound waves and removed from the eye with the help of vacuum. After the capsule is completely cleaned, artificial intraocular lenses are inserted into the lens capsule. No stitches are required as the incision is very small. Recovery time is short. Since the incision is small, the risk of infection and astigmatism development is minimal. The intraocular lenses used in this technique are foldable and special lenses that open and take shape with body heat when placed in the eye. The quality of the intraocular lens used is very important in the success of the surgery and visual acuity. Because these lenses remain in the eye for a lifetime. In some poor quality lenses, inflammation in the eye against the lens material, thickening and deterioration of the lens over time have been reported.
- FEMTO-FACO (LASER CATARACT SURGERY): It is the latest technology in cataract surgery. The difference from the FAKO method is that the corneal incision and the opening in the anterior membrane of the lens, called capsulorhexis, are created with a femtosecond laser and the cataract is shattered with a femtosecond laser. The rest of the operation is the same as the Phaco procedure. The advantages of the method are that the incision is bladeless and smoother, the capsulorhexis, which is very important especially in multifocal (smart) lenses, can be fully centralized and its size and centralization can be made with millimetric accuracy. The disadvantage is the high price.
