Category: Cataracts

Cataract Surgery Using the LenSx

In people over the age of 55, cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss. They occur because of naturally occurring proteins in the eye clumping together over time. This causes the lens to become cloudy. While changes to the lens due to cataracts occur slowly, eventually it may become so clouded that it no longer allows enough light into the eye for you to see. Fortunately, the condition is treatable with cataract surgery. The LenSx machine is an innovation in treating cataracts surgically that offers our patients in West Springfield, MA, significant advantages over traditional cataract surgery.

What Is LenSx Laser Cataract Surgery?

Traditional cataract surgery involves using a scalpel to make incisions in the eye through which another instrument is inserted to break up and remove the clouded lens so that a new artificial replacement can be placed. The LenSx machine uses a laser to make the incisions and break up the cloudy lens during cataract surgery.

The laser used by the LenSx Machine makes more precise incisions than could be done with a scalpel in traditional cataract surgery. There is less trauma to the eye in breaking up the effective lens because the laser works more efficiently. This means fewer side effects, less time in surgery, and faster recovery for patients in West Springfield, MA.

What Type of Laser Is LenSx?

The LenSx machine uses a femtosecond laser. A femtosecond is one-quadrillionth of a second. This refers to the rate at which the machine emits bursts of laser energy. Following its introduction in the early 1990s, the femtosecond laser gained the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration for LASIK procedures in 2001. In the intervening 20 years, there have been dramatic improvements in the technology to make it faster, more precise, and more efficient, with reproducible results. It is now used in other ophthalmologic surgical procedures, including cataract surgery.

Is LenSx Cataract Surgery Covered by Medicare?

Cataract surgery is usually performed to correct vision loss. Medicare only considers the medical necessity of the procedure, not the technique used, and will cover a procedure performed with a LenSx machine the same as it would the traditional procedure to remove cataracts. This means that, in either case, Medicare covers 80% of the total cost, with the remaining 20% being the patient’s responsibility.

Bladeless Cataract Surgery From Northeast Laser

Dr. John Frangie at Northeast Laser is always at the forefront of technology when it comes to advances in eye surgery. Patients in West Springfield, MA, trust his years of experience. Contact us when you are ready to permanently correct your vision by having your cataracts removed safely and efficiently.

Image Source: Roman Zaiets / Shutterstock

What To Do If You Start to Notice Cataract Symptoms

What To Do If You Start to Notice Cataract Symptoms

Certain medical ailments have been part of the human condition for millennia. With one of the earliest documented cases potentially dating back to 5th Dynasty Ancient Egyptian art from around 2467 B.C.E., cataracts are one such physiological problem.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, estimates that there are 20 million cataract sufferers worldwide. In spite of the condition’s prevalence and long history, however, many people remain woefully under informed about how a cataract might occur and how to treat one. Here’s what you should know.

What Is a Cataract?
A cataract is characterized by a clouding that manifests in the lens of your eye. An outside observer is likely to note the fact that your eye appears to have a large cloudy or milky-looking section. If you’re the sufferer, you might experience a range of visual distortions, including blurry vision, problems seeing at night, light sensitivity and the appearance of double vision or halos around lights.

As a cataract progresses, it can result in lasting vision deficiency and significantly worsened quality of life. In August 2014, the WHO reported that cataracts were the number-one cause of blindness in low- to middle-income nations, and they played a role in 33 percent of all visual impairment cases worldwide.

How Does a Cataract Develop?
Numerous factors have an impact on people’s likelihood of contracting a cataract in either of their eyes. For instance, behaviors like smoking or excessive alcohol consumption can have adverse effects. If you’ve previously experienced an eye injury, inflammation or ocular surgery, then you could also be at greater risk, as might those who have diabetes or suffer from obesity. Although many people develop this condition as they age, others have it from birth or during childhood.

The mechanism of cataract development involves physical abnormalities in the lens, which is the region of the eye that focuses incoming light onto the retina to form images. Although the lens is composed of protein, water and other substances, the proteins can begin to cluster together in localized areas in a manner that interferes with the passage of light and creates the typical cloudy appearance. A cataract may also occur in different parts of the lens and produce distinct physiological effects.

What Are the Treatment Options?
Although cataract surgeries date back to ancient times, contemporary methods are far healthier and safer. Today’s ophthalmologists can even perform outpatient procedures that don’t require a hospital stay. These procedures typically involve the removal of the clouded lens and its replacement with a permanent artificial substitute, known as an intraocular lens. Those who can’t receive such lenses can still undergo cataract surgery to remove the affected tissue and wear corrective vision devices.

The efficacy of cataract surgery depends on how early you diagnose and treat the condition. To learn more about your options, visit us online.

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