Cataract Surgery

The classic method to remove catarcts is surgical.  The old fashioned methods and still practiced in remote villages without acccess to modern healthcare is called "couching"  With this method the cataract is pushed back out of the pupillary space and no longer blocks the patient's vision.  The disadvantage is that there is no optical correction in place and the eye can become inflammed. 

Following this method, the intracapsular method was developed.  Rather than pushing the whole lens backward, it is extracted through a rather large incision in one piece.

The next advance came with the extracapsular method of cataract surgery.  With this surgical method, the posterior (back) portion of the lens covering (capsule) remains intact and the remaining portion of the lens (anterior capsule, cortex and nucleus) is manually expressed through a large incision.  This is very effective but generally requires sutures and a somewhat large incision and healing is delayed.

The modern methods involve ultrasound or laser energy or both to break up the cataract and remove it from the eye.  With the modern methods, no needles, no stitches or patches are necessary and the patient can safely resume normal activities shortly after cataract surgery.