Cataracts are a normal part of aging. The older you get, the more likely you are to develop a cataract. Although cataracts may seem frightening, advancements in technology have made cataract surgery one of the safest and most successful surgeries in the United States today.
A cataract is a clouding of all or part of the normally clear lens within your eye. This causes blurred or distorted vision. Specific diets or laser treatments will not lessen the effect of cataracts. Cataract surgery can restore your vision long before you experience a loss of vision that interferes with your daily activities.
The Laurel Eye Clinic offers the most advanced options to customize your vision after cataract surgery. Proudly serving the Dubois, Altoona and greater Brookville areas, we offer customization that is based on your individual lifestyle.
Our team of premier cataract surgeons currently offer three options:
- Traditional Option
- Enhanced/Toric
- Deluxe Option
The surgeons will help you decide which lens option is best for you. The following page provides more information on the various options.
Traditional Option
The Traditional option includes a monofocal lens implant that has a single, fixed focus. After surgery, depending upon several factors such as your astigmatism, you will likely need eyeglasses for most activities. In some cases, the traditional monofocal lens implant may lessen your dependence on eyeglasses, but will not eliminate the need for them. Typically, Medicare and most private insurance carriers will pay for 80% of your cataract surgery and the traditional monofocal lens. This is considered basic or standard coverage. Please check with your insurance company to verify your coverage.
Enhanced/Toric Option
With this option, you will receive either a traditional monofocal lens implant or a toric lens implant, depending on the amount of astigmatism you have. Additional vision correcting services are also included, if necessary, to refine your visual outcome in an attempt to reduce or eliminate any resulting prescription or refractive error. This may include astigmatism correction or excimer laser vision enhancement (ex. LASIK) following your primary implant procedure. This is an excellent option for those who are interested in Monovision or have had LASIK surgery in the past. This may also be a good option for the patient who wishes to achieve good distance vision in both eyes, with the understanding that reading glasses will be necessary for the close work. Medicare and private insurance will provide basic coverage for your cataract procedure, but will not cover this additional upgrade. This option is available at an additional cost. Affordable financing is also available.
Deluxe Option (Multifocal and Accommodative Lens Implants)
Multifocal and accommodative lens implants are designed to provide a broader range of vision, at both distance and near, without eyeglass correction. As with the enhanced option, Medicare and private insurance will provide basic coverage for your cataract procedure, but will not cover this additional upgrade. These lens implants, however, can greatly decrease a patient’s dependence upon eyeglasses after surgery for both distance and near visual tasks. If it is determined that you are a candidate for the deluxe lens implant, we will discuss several different lens options within this category. Financing options are also available to make this an affordable option.
Dropless Cataract Surgery:
Proudly serving cataract treatments to our patients throughout Western and Central Pennsylvania, we do our best to improve our patients’ experience with cataract surgery by offering patients the option of having cataract surgery performed in such a way that most patients no longer need to take eye drops before or after surgery.
This procedure is called “Dropless Cataract Surgery.” In Dropless Cataract Surgery, medicine is placed inside the eye at the time of surgery. This medicine is inserted in two areas and includes an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory which is absorbed by the eye over the next several weeks providing patients the benefit of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicines without needing drops.
Benefits of Dropless Cataract Surgery
- Is low risk.
- Eliminates drops for most patients.
- Has a low rate of infection and retinal swelling (similar to drops).
- Dramatically simplifies the postoperative regimen.
- Reduces the chance of side effects from eye drops.
- Can save patients hundreds of dollars in eye drop expenses.
Should you and your surgeon decide to proceed with Dropless Cataract Surgery, drops will not be needed before surgery. Most patients will also not need drops after surgery; however, there is no guarantee that drops won’t be needed based on your individual circumstances.
With offices located throughout Western and Central PA, make an appointment with our team of premier cataract surgeons today!