Why do doctors put a lens in the eye after removing a cataract? Is it possible to remove a cataract without surgery? What are the chances of having a cataract again, after surgery?
This question shows how we eye doctors could be doing a much better job educating our patients! A “cataract” is not a disease, growth, skim, film, or any sort of covering of the natural lens of the eye –it IS the (dysfunctional) lens of the eye, hardened and discolored, usually due to no more than natural aging. So surgically removing a cataract is not like taking out a diseased gallbladder -it is actually like removing a degenerated hip and replacing it with an artificial joint that can restore its proper function.
Can you remove a cataract and not replace it with an artificial lens implant? Sure, but then your eye would hardly see very well without resorting to very thick glasses. Can you remove a cataract without surgery? No -but not every cataract needs surgery. The chance of a “cataract coming back” is almost nil -but some people do often need a later supplementary YAG laser treatment to restore full visual function -but only once, not again and again.
Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. – Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic