Cataracts: causes, symptoms, and treatments, Los Angeles

What causes cataracts?

Unfortunately, the exact cause of cataracts is unknown. That said, certain risk factors have been shown to be associated with the development of cataracts. These fall into the following four groups:

Age-related cataracts

Most cataracts are related to aging. More than half of all Americans age 65 and older have a cataract.

Secondary cataract

Cataracts are more likely to develop in people who have eye diseases resulting from diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, prolonged steroid use, take certain cholesterol medications, hormone replacement therapy, or abuse alcohol, all of which can affect eye health.

Congenital cataract

Some babies are born with cataracts or develop them in childhood, often in both eyes. These cataracts may not affect vision. If they do, they may need to be promptly removed to prevent permanent vision loss.

Traumatic cataract

Your risk of cataracts can increase soon after an eye injury, or years late

What are the symptoms of Cataracts?

• Cloudy or blurred vision
• Light and glare sensitivity
• Difficulty with night vision
• Fading or yellowing tint of colors
• Seeing halos around lights
• Need for better lighting for reading
• Frequent changes to an eyeglass prescription

Can cataracts be treated without surgery?

Yes and No.  If caught early, cataract treatment is aimed at improving your quality of vision. When cataract symptoms appear, you may experience cloudy or blurry vision, light sensitivity, poor night vision, double vision, and so on.

So changes in your eyewear prescription can be improved with new eyeglasses, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses. Certain lens tints and coatings can be added to lenses to reduce symptoms.  Even better positioning of lamps or reading lights can help.

Your eye doctor may recommend that you wear a hat when outdoors in addition to quality sunglasses to help prevent further cataract development. Additionally, certain lifestyle changes may improve your vision enough to delay cataract surgery.

But nothing except surgical removal of cataracts is going to solve the problem and is, in the end, almost always recommended when your vision loss interferes with everyday activities, such as driving, reading, or watching TV.

How cataract surgery is performed?

Modern cataract surgery is performed by making a small incision in the eye through which the cataract is dissolved using a tiny ultrasound probe and then removed with gentle suction. Next, a new, perfectly clear, permanent lens is put in its place. This conventional approach is very quick, virtually painless, involves no bleeding, and typically uses no sutures.

About our cataract lasers 

At Assil Gaur Eye Institute we go beyond the conventional surgical approach by offering a laser treatment approach designed to make the procedure safer and result in faster visual recovery. At Assil Gaur Eye Institute, we perform Cataract Surgery using both the iFS and the LensAR™ Femtosecond Laser Systems. The LensAR™ System provides the most revolutionary breakthrough of any laser cataract technology to date.

Just as we are the only ophthalmology center in greater Los Angeles to feature two sets of LASIK Lasers for vision correction, we’re the only center to offer two types of Laser systems for cataract treatment.1Dr. Assil selected the LensAR™ Femtosecond Laser System as the lead surgical laser for our patients because it provides the most revolutionary breakthrough of any laser cataract technology to date. The LensAR™ system’s unique ability to directly and precisely define the cataract's size and shape, without reliance on extrapolating (estimating) algorithms used by earlier laser technology, renders the LensAR™ system the most precise and safest method for cataract removal today.

The ORA System™ 

The ORA System™ is a cutting-edge technology that allows our doctors to take an intra-operative picture of the eye after the new intraocular lens (IOL) has been inserted to verify that the nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism (eyeglass prescription) has been corrected and that therefore the appropriate strength IOL has been inserted. This technology has dramatically improved cataract surgery outcomes because, for the first time ever, the surgeon is able to correct the eye prescription in “real-time” during the procedure, thus freeing many patients from needing eyeglasses, often for the first time in their lives.

Dr. Assil is perhaps the world's foremost authority on the ORA SYSTEM and was the first physician to use the ORA System™ technology beginning in 2008. He currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board of its developer WaveTec®.

The Assil Gaur Eye Institute advantage

When you select Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your cataract removal, you will benefit not only from our state-of-the-art laser technology and our physicians' experience but also from our commitment to:

Employing the most comprehensive pre-operative testing available today in order to ensure the greatest surgical accuracy, by using multiple measuring systems to measure eye power and replacement lens size.

Utilizing micro incisional technology to facilitate faster corneal healing and recovery time. This technology permits cataract removal through a 2mm opening (most other centers are using entry sites that are approximately 50% larger).

Operating using leading-edge “cold” and “ellipse” ultrasound technology, which Dr. Assil's research has demonstrated results in less post-op intraocular swelling, providing greater safety, efficacy, and faster visual recovery for our patients.

Offering the most comprehensive inventory of Intraocular lenses available today, to ensure the best product type and shape match for your eye.

Dedicating ourselves to your care. Your surgeon will remain personally involved in your post-operative examinations throughout your healing. While full visual recovery may take several weeks to stabilize, most people see better and resume all normal activities the day after surgery.