When your focus and eyesight deteriorate suddenly, it may be because you've developed cataracts. That means you need to have the lenses inside your eye replaced. But not to worry. With laser surgery and other technologies, replacement is a breeze, and your sight will improve immediately.
1
00:00:00,833 --> 00:00:02,410
"Healthy Living in the Four Corners"
2
00:00:02,410 --> 00:00:05,473
is brought to you by
Southwest Eye Consultants.
3
00:00:08,220 --> 00:00:10,100
Are you experiencing blurry vision
4
00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:11,740
or seem to be seeing double?
5
00:00:11,740 --> 00:00:14,160
Do you have trouble seeing well at night?
6
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,900
You may be experiencing the
development of cataracts,
7
00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:19,470
a condition that affects
one out of every two people
8
00:00:19,470 --> 00:00:21,360
after the age of 60.
9
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,350
We asked Dr. Moss Fenberg
10
00:00:23,350 --> 00:00:26,190
with Southwest Retina
Consultants of Durango
11
00:00:26,190 --> 00:00:28,590
about cataracts and
the latest technologies
12
00:00:28,590 --> 00:00:33,040
that are available to replace
them and improve your vision.
13
00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,810
So as we age, there is a
natural clouding that happens
14
00:00:36,810 --> 00:00:38,881
in your lens inside your eye.
15
00:00:38,881 --> 00:00:43,881
Your lens is a clear crystalline
protein that helps to,
16
00:00:44,110 --> 00:00:46,283
of course, focus light inside your eye.
17
00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,350
As the birthday candles come,
we tend to have less ability
18
00:00:51,350 --> 00:00:54,350
for that crystalline
lens to focus or move,
19
00:00:54,350 --> 00:00:56,080
which changes our focal point,
20
00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,190
meaning our arms are
not long enough anymore.
21
00:00:58,190 --> 00:01:01,620
We can't quite bring
images as close as we want,
22
00:01:01,620 --> 00:01:04,620
and also there's a general
clouding that occurs.
23
00:01:04,620 --> 00:01:08,360
So that light is no longer distributed
24
00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:09,960
through the lens equally,
25
00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:13,730
and we start to develop
opacities there in the lens
26
00:01:13,730 --> 00:01:17,500
and we go see our optometry
colleagues who make our glasses
27
00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:20,980
and do our comprehensive evaluations,
28
00:01:20,980 --> 00:01:23,710
and they say at some
point, "Well, I'm sorry.
29
00:01:23,710 --> 00:01:27,230
I can't get you back to 20-20 any longer.
30
00:01:27,230 --> 00:01:28,720
You need to go see an ophthalmologist
31
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,790
and consider cataract surgery."
32
00:01:30,790 --> 00:01:33,840
Cataract surgery is the removal of that
33
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,870
hard, cloudy crystalline lens in your eye
34
00:01:36,870 --> 00:01:41,870
and the replacement of it with
an acrylic or plastic implant
35
00:01:42,230 --> 00:01:45,580
that is designed to focus
light where it should,
36
00:01:45,580 --> 00:01:48,170
and so although that may
seem strange to think about,
37
00:01:48,170 --> 00:01:50,420
an implant inside your eye,
38
00:01:50,420 --> 00:01:52,210
it's a lot like an implant to replace
39
00:01:52,210 --> 00:01:54,910
a different part of your
body that isn't working well.
40
00:01:55,770 --> 00:01:57,870
Your eye is essentially measured
41
00:01:57,870 --> 00:02:00,110
like a fitting for a shoe,
42
00:02:00,110 --> 00:02:02,660
and all of the angles and curves
43
00:02:02,660 --> 00:02:05,910
and length of the eye are
brought into consideration,
44
00:02:05,910 --> 00:02:09,780
and then a lens is chosen
that is right for you,
45
00:02:09,780 --> 00:02:11,450
and that new lens
46
00:02:11,450 --> 00:02:15,150
then focuses light
properly in the eye again.
47
00:02:15,150 --> 00:02:18,060
Cataract surgery traditionally
has been performed
48
00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:22,290
by hand with surgeons magnifying
the eye with a microscope.
49
00:02:22,290 --> 00:02:25,540
Dr. Fenberg also employs laser technology
50
00:02:25,540 --> 00:02:28,530
to ensure the finest precision possible.
51
00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:31,250
With laser assisted cataract surgery,
52
00:02:31,250 --> 00:02:33,190
before the physician does anything,
53
00:02:33,190 --> 00:02:36,950
the laser makes that incision
with a laser, essentially.
54
00:02:36,950 --> 00:02:38,040
The laser then opens
55
00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,880
with a perfectly round capsulotomy
56
00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,870
here on the center of
the lens in the capsule,
57
00:02:44,870 --> 00:02:48,120
and then the laser sculpts
this lens into multiple pieces.
58
00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,960
You imagine cutting a
pie into multiple wedges.
59
00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,870
It's all broken into those
pieces, but not removed.
60
00:02:53,870 --> 00:02:55,300
So then the patient is moved
61
00:02:55,300 --> 00:02:57,530
under the microscope with the physician.
62
00:02:57,530 --> 00:02:58,770
These incisions that have been
63
00:02:58,770 --> 00:03:01,360
perfectly made with the laser are opened.
64
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,810
The capsulotomy is essentially removed,
65
00:03:03,810 --> 00:03:06,910
because it's already been
placed perfectly in the eye,
66
00:03:06,910 --> 00:03:10,690
and then with much less power
and much less manipulation,
67
00:03:10,690 --> 00:03:13,250
each of these little quadrants is removed
68
00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:14,800
from the eye of the lens,
69
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,260
and then you began the process of,
70
00:03:18,260 --> 00:03:22,100
on the table, measuring
the patient one more time
71
00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:25,100
to ensure that the lens you've
chosen is the proper lens.
72
00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:29,750
So the lens is essentially
loaded by my assistant
73
00:03:29,750 --> 00:03:33,060
on the table into this very
thin profile, like a scroll,
74
00:03:33,060 --> 00:03:35,890
and so it's smaller than
that two millimeter size.
75
00:03:35,890 --> 00:03:39,100
It goes in the eye like
a scroll, all rolled up,
76
00:03:39,100 --> 00:03:40,840
and then once it gets into your eye,
77
00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,110
your body temperature starts to heat up.
78
00:03:44,110 --> 00:03:44,943
Well, it doesn't.
79
00:03:44,943 --> 00:03:45,776
Your body temperature isn't hot.
80
00:03:45,776 --> 00:03:47,580
It's just hotter than the operating room.
81
00:03:47,580 --> 00:03:50,100
Once the lens goes into the eye,
82
00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:52,750
and your normal body temperature
starts to impact that lens,
83
00:03:52,750 --> 00:03:57,070
it then rolls and opens into
its own natural configuration,
84
00:03:57,070 --> 00:04:00,570
which is much larger, of
course, then that incision,
85
00:04:00,570 --> 00:04:03,800
and it has two little arms
that hold it out and stretch it
86
00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,030
and keep it in a centered
position where it should be.
87
00:04:07,030 --> 00:04:09,680
Most health insurance
covers cataract surgery
88
00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:11,830
for traditional lens replacement,
89
00:04:11,830 --> 00:04:13,810
but if you're willing
to spend a little more
90
00:04:13,810 --> 00:04:17,320
on out-of-pocket expenses,
you may be a candidate for
91
00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,430
one of two types of specialty lenses.
92
00:04:20,430 --> 00:04:23,180
The multiple focal lens
can give you both close-up
93
00:04:23,180 --> 00:04:24,730
and long distance vision,
94
00:04:24,730 --> 00:04:28,770
and the more common toric
lens can correct astigmatism.
95
00:04:28,770 --> 00:04:30,630
Patients who have large
levels of astigmatism
96
00:04:30,630 --> 00:04:33,710
who may have had to have worn
a contact or a rigid contact
97
00:04:33,710 --> 00:04:38,260
and gas-permeable, scleral
lens, things like that.
98
00:04:38,260 --> 00:04:40,200
Those patients are amazed,
99
00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:41,610
because they're out of their contacts.
100
00:04:41,610 --> 00:04:43,440
They've now corrected their astigmatism
101
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,440
with something inside their eye
102
00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,160
and their distance vision is excellent.
103
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,040
Now, they don't have near
vision with that lens,
104
00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,620
but many of them are okay with that.
105
00:04:52,620 --> 00:04:55,270
And they want what we refer
to as custom distance.
106
00:04:55,270 --> 00:04:58,390
They want the clear,
beautiful distance vision
107
00:04:58,390 --> 00:05:00,470
and they're okay having near vision.
108
00:05:00,470 --> 00:05:02,290
Some of them are okay
wearing glasses still
109
00:05:02,290 --> 00:05:06,360
with almost no correction
above, but with a bifocal below,
110
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,270
and they just like the ability
to take those glasses off
111
00:05:09,270 --> 00:05:11,620
when they need to, to ski or do whatever,
112
00:05:11,620 --> 00:05:13,270
and still have great distance vision
113
00:05:13,270 --> 00:05:15,930
and put them on for their near work.
114
00:05:15,930 --> 00:05:17,000
With a multifocal,
115
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,960
or what's called an enhanced
depth of field lens,
116
00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,490
you now bring in your world
much, much, much closer.
117
00:05:23,490 --> 00:05:26,090
You can pick up the things
in the grocery store,
118
00:05:26,090 --> 00:05:27,350
or read the price tag.
119
00:05:27,350 --> 00:05:30,033
You can read most things
that you need in your world.
120
00:05:30,900 --> 00:05:33,090
If you're doing something like tying flies
121
00:05:33,090 --> 00:05:35,500
or reading the fine print
on a pill bottle, well,
122
00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:38,450
you may need to put a pair
of readers on for fine work,
123
00:05:38,450 --> 00:05:41,300
but for most of your activity,
you're able to do that.
124
00:05:41,300 --> 00:05:42,760
These lenses work by essentially
125
00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,180
casting multiple images onto the retina,
126
00:05:46,180 --> 00:05:50,380
and your brain then
learns to ignore the image
127
00:05:50,380 --> 00:05:54,250
that's out of focus for the
given distance that you're in.
128
00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:56,160
Dr. Fenberg warns that patients
129
00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,440
who elect to have one
of the specialty lenses
130
00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,680
implanted in their eyes will
need to be evaluated first
131
00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,490
to ensure that they're a good candidate,
132
00:06:03,490 --> 00:06:05,690
both physically and emotionally.
133
00:06:05,690 --> 00:06:09,000
Adjusting to the new lenses can take time.
134
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,160
I tell patients, we change
your visual system instantly
135
00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:13,760
when we do cataract surgery,
136
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,410
and it takes some time to adapt to that.
137
00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:18,470
So if I go and get a new pair of glasses
138
00:06:18,470 --> 00:06:20,900
from my favorite local optometrist,
139
00:06:20,900 --> 00:06:23,260
no matter how well I actually
see when I put them on
140
00:06:23,260 --> 00:06:25,980
and they tell me I'm 20-20,
I'm still not adjusted yet.
141
00:06:25,980 --> 00:06:27,510
I don't like them initially,
142
00:06:27,510 --> 00:06:29,120
because the astigmatism
is a little different,
143
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,120
and the focal point and the size,
144
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:32,950
and it just takes a little bit to adapt,
145
00:06:32,950 --> 00:06:34,950
and so they always tell
you, you know, I'm sorry.
146
00:06:34,950 --> 00:06:37,140
You got to give it a couple
of weeks and see how you do
147
00:06:37,140 --> 00:06:38,703
before we make an adjustment.
148
00:06:39,780 --> 00:06:42,401
With surgery, we do that
permanently and instantly,
149
00:06:42,401 --> 00:06:45,100
and we take your patch off the next day,
150
00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:46,760
and for most patients,
151
00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,410
they're not quite certain
how great it is initially,
152
00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:54,220
but by a few days to a few
weeks, they're loving it.
153
00:06:54,220 --> 00:06:58,210
They are loving their
spectacle independence.
154
00:06:58,210 --> 00:07:00,300
If you'd like to know more
about cataract surgery
155
00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:02,170
and the options available to you,
156
00:07:02,170 --> 00:07:05,700
contact SWEyeConsultants.com.
157
00:07:05,700 --> 00:07:07,993
I'm Deborah Uroda for Healthy Living.
