Cataract surgery is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures in the United States, with more than three million Americans having their cataracts removed each year. If you're experiencing vision problems due to cataracts, your doctor may suggest cataract surgery as a safe and effective eye care solution that can have life-changing results. Before undergoing cataract surgery, your doctor may recommend that you temporarily stop taking any medications that may increase the risk of bleeding during the procedure. You may also be told not to eat or drink anything 12 hours before the surgery.
Specialists now recognize the convenience of not waiting until the cataract is “mature” and the vision has been severely diminished before urging patients to consider surgery. Cataract surgery is performed by an eye doctor on an outpatient basis, which means that you don't have to stay in the hospital after surgery. About 9 out of 10 people who have cataract surgery see better afterwards, but their vision may be blurred at first while the eye recovers. Your doctor might also recommend surgery, even if cataracts aren't the primary cause of your vision problems. By age 80, more than half of the people living in the U. S.
have cataracts or have had cataract surgery. If you have cataracts in both eyes, your doctor will usually schedule the second surgery after the first eye has healed. The women in a study who underwent cataract surgery lived longer, even though they were generally sicker at first as a group and had more heart attacks, chronic lung diseases, peptic ulcers, and glaucoma than those who didn't have surgery. If you're ready to see if cataract surgery is the best treatment option for you, contact us at Heart of Texas Eye Care for a free consultation. Keep in mind that if you have cataracts in both eyes, you'll need to have surgery on each eye at a different time, usually a month apart.
