CATARACT SURGERY

When your ophthalmologist tells you that you have cataracts, he’s referring to the cloudiness on the lenses in your eyes.

Cataracts can happen in one or both eyes and are closely related to ageing. The lens that develops a cloudy abnormality lies on the top of your eye.

It’s the clear part that focuses light on your retina, which sits at the back of your eye. When light hits the retina, it sends signals to your brain and delivers the images you take for granted. If there is a cloudy covering on the lens, your vision is blurred too.

REPLACING THE LENS

You may find new prescription glasses, sunglasses with anti-glare properties and magnifiers help you see better when the cloudiness first appears. Once they stop working, however, you should consider a surgical option.

Cataract surgery is a process that replaces the cloudy lens with a new, clearer artificial lens. The procedure is one of the most commonly performed ophthalmic surgeries, efficiently performed by your ophthalmologist as an outpatient procedure in theatre. Cataract surgery is a highly successful procedure that can restore your sight. It has about a 90% chance of success.

Dr Boitumelo Khantsi only suggests replacing your lens through surgery when your vision becomes so bad that you have difficulty driving, reading, watching television or performing other everyday activities. You may also consider surgery when the cataract doesn’t affect your vision, but this does not prevent us from examining your eyes for other conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration.

PRE-SURGERY

We perform cataract surgery in one eye at a time. If you have cataracts in both eyes, you need to make separate appointments for each eye and wait four to six weeks between procedures. Before each surgery, Dr Boitumelo Khantsi does a painless ultrasound test to measure the shape and size of your lens. This process allows him to order the correctly sized intraocular lens, or IOL, for you.

You’re advised not to eat or drink fluids on the morning of the surgery but may take your usual chronic medication after discussion with the practice. We may give you antibiotic eye drops to reduce the risk of infection. You will need to arrange to have someone drive you home on the day of your surgery, as you will not be able to drive yourself.

SURGICAL DETAILS

The entire surgery takes about an hour. Before we start, we can give you a mild sedative to help you relax. Your eye then is dilated with eye drops and the area is numbed with a local anaesthetic.

Your ophthalmologist will use one of two methods to remove your cloudy lens:

By removing the lens in one piece after making an incision in your eye
By suctioning the lens out in parts after breaking it up with an ultrasound probe.

Dr Boitumelo Khantsi will then apply an artificial lens into the now-empty lens capsule. A patch is placed over your eye as you rest for 15 to 20 minutes for observation. During this time, we monitor for any sign of trouble, such as bleeding or a reaction to anaesthesia.

AFTER SURGERY

Colours usually seem much brighter after cataract surgery because you’ve been looking through yellowish lenses for so long that you’ve been accustomed to cloudy images. Your eyes may feel itchy and uncomfortable for a couple of days following surgery, but that’s normal. Avoid rubbing your eyes during this time.

You’ll need to make a follow-up appointment at our Midrand or Pretoria offices within a couple of days, and then again in a couple of weeks to ensure everything is healing correctly. You may receive an injection of steroid medication if you experience inflammation and you may need to wear an eye patch if you’re still sensitive to light. You should expect to be recovered entirely, with no adverse side effects, after eight weeks.

CATARACT SURGERY

REPLACING THE LENS

PRE-SURGERY

SURGICAL DETAILS

AFTER SURGERY

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