Gailey Eye Clinic

If I have cataract surgery, will I need to wear glasses?
Probably not. The natural lens is removed in cataract surgery and replaced with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL). Years ago, IOLs gave clear vision either close up or distant but not both. Therefore you had to wear glasses for whichever distance range was not taken care of by the IOLs.

However, modern IOLs give clear vision at all distances. Each one uses different technology to accomplish this. ReZoom® and Tecnis™, offered by Abbott Medical Optics, are multifocal lenses. They have concentric areas built into them that react to light differently and combined, they bend incoming light at the right angles to give you clear near, intermediate, and far vision. The ReSTOR® IOL offered by Alcon, Inc. is also multifocal.

For the most part, these IOLs give good vision near and far but you and your eye doctor can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each one and determine which one would best suit your lifestyle and vision needs. Depending on your particular vision status, you might need eyeglasses.

How can eye surgery help with glaucoma?
Glaucoma is the name for a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve and progressively disable it. That means that image information received by the light-sensitive cells in the retina cannot reach the brain, which means you cannot see those images. In most glaucoma cases, this optic nerve damage is caused by elevated pressure inside the eye. This intraocular pressure (IOP) is created by the fluid that fills our eyes and it pushes outward on the eyeball's periphery. The retina is part of the eye's back wall.

Glaucoma is treated by methods which either decrease fluid production in the eyes or increase fluid drainage. That achieves a proper balance and protects the optic nerve from further damage. Increased fluid drainage can be achieved by eye surgery. In Laser Peripheral Iridotomy, a small hole is created in the iris; in a Trabeculoplasty, the existing fluid channels are opened up a little. If further surgery is needed, a tiny part of the eye can be destroyed that produces fluid. These surgeries are all done with a laser.

If the above procedures do not work well enough, filtering microsurgery can be done. A little drainage hole is made in the white part of the eye (the sclera) that increases drainage.

When would a corneal transplant be needed?
A corneal transplant is surgery to replace the central part of the cornea when scarring or disease has impaired vision in ways that cannot otherwise be treated. Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease where the cornea becomes thinner and bulges forward, causing blurry vision. After other treatments like rigid contact lenses cannot give clear vision, replacement of the cornea becomes necessary.

Any time the cornea is irreparably scarred, a transplant may be the only way of restoring vision. Scarring can arise from an accident or trauma or from an infection such as Herpes. Sometimes there is corneal failure after another surgery and a transplant must be done. The new corneas come from donors and the procedure is painless.