How is cataract surgery performed?
Traditional surgery involves making a large incision of 9 to 10 mm and closing it with several stitches. This pulls the eye out of shape resulting in distorted astigmatic vision. Phacoemulsification makes use of small, highly sophisticated ultrasonic machine. This is steered into the eyes. Localised high frequency sound waves break up the cataract into small fragments, which are then, sucked out through the instrument’s hollow tubing. A thin capsule or shell is left in place. This maintains the natural anatomy of the eye. The size of the incision is only 3 mm. Intraocular lens is implanted through this opening. It is placed inside the eye in place of the natural lens. With a foldable IOL, the incision remains 3mm. The healing is fast. There are cases where the child is born with the cataract in both or either of the eyes which will require an urgent ophthalmic check up. If the cataracts are total, surgery has to be performed fairly soon otherwise the light reflex may not develop causin
