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.

Selection of a Cataract Surgeon

The selection of the surgeon to do your cataract surgery is an important determinant of the outcome of your surgery.  As with most types of surgery, the more surgeries of a specific type the the surgeon performs the more likely is that the results will be adverse event free.  According to a study done in 2006, low volume surgeons have an adverse event outcome rate that is 8 times higher than high volume surgeons.¹  Specifically surgeons who performed less than 250 cataract surgeries per year had an adverse event rate of .8% while cataract surgeons who performed more than 1000 procedures per year had an adverse event rate of just .1%.

1. Surgeon Volume and Selected Patient outcomes in Cataract Surgery; Bell, Hatch, Cernat Urbach, August, 2006, Ophthalmology, Vol 114, No. 3.