Cataract Surgery & Premium Lenses
Cataract Care
At Lexington Eye Associates, we emphasize excellence in eye care. We take great pride in offering our patients having cataract surgery the safest, most advanced techniques in small-incision cataract surgery.
Our surgeons are all certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. We have all graduated from leading American ophthalmology training programs accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) and maintain faculty positions at several academic institutions in Boston. We maintain cutting-edge skills and knowledge, attending national seminars and hands-on laboratory sessions, and are considered leaders throughout New England in cataract surgery. Lexington Eye Associates surgeons are skilled in conventional “monofocal” intraocular lens implants, as well as the latest generation of “premium” intraocular lens implants.
Our surgeons perform thousands of cataract surgeries each year at Massachusetts’ most state-of-the-art ophthalmic surgery center, Surgisite Boston, as well as Emerson Hospital, which has been identified by Healthgrades in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the United States for patient experience.
What is a cataract?
A cataract is a loss of transparency, or clouding, of the normally clear lens of the eye. As one ages, chemical changes occur in the lens that make it less transparent. The loss of transparency may be so mild that vision is hardly affected, or so severe that no shapes or movements are seen – only light and dark. When the lens gets cloudy enough to obstruct vision to any significant degree, it is called a cataract. Glasses or contact lenses cannot sharpen your vision if a cataract is present.
Causes
The most common cause of cataract is aging. Other causes include trauma, medications such as steroids, systemic diseases such as diabetes, and prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light.
Symptoms
Typically, cataracts cause a slow, progressive, and painless decrease in vision. Symptoms include:
Prevention
Reducing the amount of ultraviolet light exposure by wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses may reduce your risk for developing a cataract. Avoiding smoking and taking a multi-vitamin may also decrease the risk of cataracts.
Treatment
How do you know when it is time to have a cataract removed? The answer is quite simple. The time to have your cataract removed is when you believe your quality of life would be improved if you could see better.
Cataract surgery is a very successful operation. Three million people have this procedure every year; and according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, more than 98 percent have a perfect result. As with any surgical procedure, complications can occur during or after surgery and some are severe enough to limit vision. But in the majority of cases, vision, as well as quality of life, improves significantly.