Cataract Surgery- A Solution to Lucid Vision

My Grandmother came to live with us in one November. Her eyes have turned cloudy and ashen in color which is visible clearly and undoubtedly seem to obstruct her vision. Before, she went in to in operative room. I held her tender hand in mine. All that she needs now is courage.

She is going to be forty- three in upcoming December. She has never admitted that it was becoming difficult to see day by day even though she used to take help from others by asking again and again in order to confirm. Her iris has turned opaque with a grey layer. It is clearly visible from outside. Doctors said that they will have to carry out a surgical procedure and replace her translucent lens with an artificial one. After the procedure, she is expected to see clearly again!  

Cataract- A grey layer formation over lens

I thought, the operation is longish, but I discovered with my greatest surprise that my grandmother could return home by late evening. Her one eye was covered with layers of dressing, but other than that there is no trace of the operation is left. By the next few days, she recovered with better eye through which she could perceive the world even more clearly than before.

Cataract surgery- the procedures

The cataract surgery is considered one of the minimally invasive operative procedures. Usually, the grey layer of the eye, known as cataract cannot be easily removed; therefore, the eye is exposed to ultrasound with a frequency of few thousand times in one second, which causes the layer of the cataract to be broken. Further, the broken pieces are removed by the incision of few millimeters which varies from 3 to 9 mm in the eye. Normally, the eye lens is removed and replaced with an artificial one, which can perform as efficiently as the natural one. Usually, the surgical operation is carried out by following procedures:

·   Preoperative medications: Topical application antibiotics such as ofloxacin or ciprofloxacin to inhibit the pathogens.

    Postoperative medications:  Post-operative medications includes few variety of medications which includes the following:

Eye drops has to be applied carefully to obtain optimal results

1. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs):  Drugs such as diclofenac sodium, bromfenac, Nepafenac and ketorolac is used to alleviate inflammation and cystoids macular edema.
2. Corticosteroids:  Prednisolone, Rimexolone and loteprednol etabonate are corticosteroids which can be used to reduce the inflammatory effects of the eye after the operation.
3. Combination drugs:  The drugs are sometimes used in different drug a combination which help to increase patient compliance and provides a convenient dosage regimen.

Although, the operative procedure is non- invasive and simpler, the outcome of the surgery depends upon the efficient technique and proper application of the medication to prevent further infection; it is preferred to be careful whenever medication is applied as the dosage forms require clear understanding of the steps of application.