CATARACT
Cataract is a condition that is treated exclusively with surgery in which the blurred crystalline lens of the eye is removed and replaced with an artificial lens (intraocular lens).
The method used, with few exceptions, is called phacoemulsification. This is a slightly traumatic technique for the eye, in which through a small incision (2-3mm) the blurred crystalline lens is crushed using ultrasound and aspirated. From this incision is made the insertion of the intraocular lens.
The major advantages of phacoemulsification include the absence of sutures and the short recovery time. The operation requires preoperative control and a correct measurement of refractive power (biometrics) on which will depend the type of intraocular lens that will be used in the patient.
The technique of lens perforation is constantly evolving with the improvement of the machines and the intraocular lenses that the technology offers us, as a result of which we have a perfect result postoperatively. The evolution of the intraocular lenses allows us to correct all the ametropias (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism) that pre-exist in the eye as well as presbyopia.
In order to have the perfect refractive effect, minimizing all possible intraoperative complications, a Laser, the Femtosecond Laser, has been added to the quiver of cataract surgeons.
The Femtosecond Laser enables the surgeon to perform specific steps of the surgery with absolute precision without the risk of complications.
The procedure begins with the detailed imaging of the anterior molecules of the eye using optical tomography. Then, the positions and dimensions of the points where the surgeon will intervene using the Laser are selected with absolute precision.
Specifically:
- The incisions in the cornea resulting in their rapid closure after the operation and the simultaneous correction of astigmatism.
- Encapsulation (ie the opening of the lens sac from which the blurred lens will be absorbed), a very important step in the operating room, which is ideally done in the center and has a perfect circular shape each time, something that can hardly be achieved even the hand of a very experienced surgeon.
- Shredding the blurred lens so that the lens pieces are aspirated with much less energy and duration of ultrasound use.
The “Diathlasis” Ophthalmological Institute is the only one in Northern Greece that has the latest generation equipment for cataract surgery such as:
- LenSx Femtosecond Laser (ALCON)
- Centurion (NEO lens drilling machine by ALCON)
- Lumera 700 (NEW ZEISS microscope)
- Callisto (Computer assisted cataract surgery – ZEISS)
The time of cataract surgery lasts about ten to twenty minutes and anesthesia is usually done by instillation of anesthetic drops.
The patient is not hospitalized after the surgery, returns home and begins the instillation of eye drops that is needed postoperatively, which lasts about three weeks.