Cataract Surgery Makes Clear Difference for Mass. Eye and Ear Patients
To understand what it means to reclaim your vision, ask one of the 20,000 patients who annually visit the Comprehensive Ophthalmology and Cataract Consultation Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. While not every patient requires cataract surgery, for those who do, the changes in lifestyle can be miraculous.
“I looked into the back garden and noticed that a particular statue that was cobalt blue looked charcoal grey,” explains Carole, a cataract surgery patient. “It shattered my self-esteem and made me sad, because I didn’t have full use of all parts of my body.”
A cataract causes the lens of the eye to lose its clarity. Someone suffering from a cataract might experience blurry vision, glare, double vision and frequent prescription changes. Cataract surgery is most often the solution, though the process can be intimidating to the uninformed patient.
Carole was panicked before her surgery until she learned from her doctor, Carolyn Kloek, MD, about the absence of pain and the brief recovery period. Dr. Kloek understands that her patients are nervous before surgery, so she takes time to comfort them during their preoperative appointments.
“The world is alive again for me,” Carole says. “I can see color in both eyes.”
Cataract surgery is among the most common operations in the country, typically lasting less than one hour with patients returning home the same day. Candidates for cataract surgery often visit Mass. Eye and Ear once their symptoms become advanced, but the condition can also be discovered early, during routine vision exams. “It never gets old to give patients the ability to see so much better,” states Dr. Kloek. “It makes such a difference in their lives.”
Through vision-restoration technology, management of a variety of common eye problems, including cataracts, is made possible. Visit MassEyeAndEar.org for information on cataract surgery and the Comprehensive Ophthalmology and Cataract Consultation Service at Mass. Eye and Ear.