As we age, the natural lens of the eye-called the Crystalline Lens-begins to undergo changes that can affect our vision. The first noticeable change occurs at around the age of 40 when most people begin to experience difficulty with near vision and focusing on close objects and reading material. This gradual decrease in near vision is called presbyopia and is the result of the Crystalline Lens losing its flexibility and thus focusing power for seeing things up close. At the onset of presbyopia many people begin to notice that their "arms are too short" and need to wear reading glasses or bifocals to be able to focus on close objects.

The second change in the Crystalline Lens that can affect vision is called a cataract. A cataract is an opacity or "clouding" of the natural lens in the eye. Cataracts occur as part of the normal process of aging and can be aggravated by medications such as predisone, and diseases such as diabetes mellitus. It is important to note that patients who suffer from cataracts are very likely to be affected by presbyopia as well.

A cataract is a very common cause of decreased vision, which typically affects patients in the 6th or 7th decade of life. While there is little that can be done to reliably prevent a cataract from developing, modern cataract surgery is a remarkably effective technique for restoring vision loss due to the development of cataract. Cataracts become visually significant over time, and surgery is recommended when the vision can no longer be corrected satisfactorily with glasses.

Cataract surgery is now a relatively brief (20 minutes) operation, which can be performed as an outpatient procedure. Dr. Evans has been performing this procedure by phacoemulsification since 1989 and has been performing cataract surgery using a tiny incision requiring no stitches and topical "eye drop" anesthesia that does not require injections or needles since 1994.

As part of your cataract surgery, Dr. Evans will implant a permanent clear plastic lens to correct your vision. Lens implants, as pictured on the right, are small artificial lenses that are placed in the eye after the cataract has been removed to minimize dependence on spectacles. Today, Dr. Evans is able to offer you the opportunity to have a lens implant that will correct your distance vision as well as your near vision so that you will be able to minimize your need for glasses in order to see at all distances following your cataract surgery. These lens implants are called near vision correcting lens implants or presbyopia-correcting lens implants. As part of your cataract evaluation, Dr. Evans and the staff will be sure to discuss the possibility of having a near vision presbyopia-correcting lens implant as part of your cataract surgery.

In the event that you have a considerable amount of astigmatism, it is also possible to correct that astigmatism using a type of lens implant called a toric lens implant. A toric lens implant or astigmatism correcting lens implant can help you see clearly at distance without the need for glasses after cataract surgery, but does not correct presbyopia or near vision.

For those patients who would like to have the best possible distance vision especially for night vision and low contrast environments such as at dusk or in rainy conditions, it is possible to for Dr. Evans to use an aspheric lens implant which works by eliminating spherical aberration.

Dr. Evans and the staff will take the time necessary to answer your questions and make specific recommendations about the different types of lens implants during your cataract evaluation.

Laser Treatment Following Cataract Surgery