Question: I have a cataract. Can I avoid surgery?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Unfortunately, no. Cataracts are opacities that form in the crystaline lens of one or both of our eyes. This lens is normally clear and transparent. Densities within the lenses may be seen easily by your doctor, but often don’t cause problems for their victim until they become quite dense, stiff, or even opaque.

Common early symptoms include glare, altered color perception, and blurred vision. They can be congenital, inherited, or acquired from trauma, infection, radiation, drugs (especially corticosteroids or steroids, and haloperidol iron, etc.), toxins, metabolic disorders, or aging (senile cataract). Patients with diabetes mellitus (both Types 1 and 2) develop cataracts earlier.

Once the cataract is fully symptomatic and "mature," treatment involves surgery to remove the lens from its capsule to restore effective light transmission to the retina, hence restoring vision. Usually a prosthetic lens is inserted to aid in focusing light, but unfortunately cannot adjust in diameter like the natural lens could. We are seeing rapid improvements here, so stay tuned.