Cataract Surgery Results

Best Possible Results

Older woman looking out at the Mountain ViewOnce the cataract is removed, colors will be much more vivid and vibrant (read about further benefits).

No surgery can be guaranteed, but cataract surgery is one of the safest and most successful operations performed today. As a result of the skill and extensive experience of Dr. Seibel and his expertise as the founder of Phacodynamics, the few complications associated with cataract surgery are quite rare at Seibel Vision Surgery.

If you are nearsighted or farsighted, the lens implant selected for your eye often corrects a significant amount of these refractive errors. In addition to regaining clear vision, your dependence on corrective lenses may be significantly reduced.  For patients choosing the option of more advanced lens implants (such as the Technis Multifocal Presbyopia-Correcting IOL), they may use glasses little to none of the time after surgery.

How long does a lens implant last?

They should last your entire lifetime, and likely even longer : )    Intraocular lens implants are not known to “wear out”

Will I see better afterwards?

If having a cataract is the only cause of your decreased vision, then there is an over 98% chance that removing it will improve clarity. If you have an additional problem (such as macular degeneration, prior uveitis, retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, or glaucoma) a determination will be made as to which issue needs to be addressed, and when. Cataract surgery can be successfully carried out even in the setting of most of these other eye conditions, although these other eye diseases if present can limit the final visual outcome.

Will I need to wear glasses?

Depending on your prescription and the type of lens implant you receive, yes, you may need glasses for some, and possibly all activities. Once a cataract has been removed, light can once again pass undistorted through the cornea and the newly implanted artificial lens, to the retina in the back of the eye. However, even though the lens implant provides most of the focusing, you may still be required to wear glasses to see more clearly because the incoming light needs to be focused directly on the retina.

In addition, most artificial implanted lenses cannot adjust for close vision the way a natural, youthful lens does due to presbyopia (read more). A natural lens accommodates, or changes shape, to bring objects into focus at distance, or close up. The intraocular lens implant provides clearest vision at one single focal distance – with the great majority of standard lenses implanted to correct for distance vision. This means that an eye focused for distance will have sharpest vision for activities such as driving, but would still require bifocal lenses or reading glasses in order to see clearly at close range.

Patients with significant astigmatism will need correction to see at all distances, using either glasses or contact lenses with a standard lens implant, or using an optional Astigmatism-Correcting (Toric) IOL (lens implant) that reduces the need for glasses at a given distance (usually set for far vision).  Patients who choose an optional Presbyopia-Correcting IOL (such as the Technis Multifocal) often find they need glasses little to none of the time after surgery for either distance or near vision.

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CATARACT SURGERY
advanced LENS IMPLANTS

Learn about cataracts and their treatment

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Laser Vision
Correction

LASIK, PRK, Implants, and other

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OTHER EYE
CONDITIONS

Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration,
Medical Eye Exams, and other

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