Procedures Cataracts

cataracts

Along with laser vision correction, Dr. Wiens' medical practice includes corneal and cataract surgery. He has performed over 10,000 procedures since commencing his practice in 1988. Dr. Wiens is on staff at Misericordia Health Centre and also performs surgery at Western Surgery Centre.

Cataract is common. In fact, 1 in every 5 people over the age of 55 reportedly have cataracts. If we live long enough, we'll all develop them.

Cataract is the clouding of the lens inside your eye. The crystalline lens is located behind the coloured part of your eye, the iris. This lens is in charge of 20% of the eye's focusing power and it works together with the cornea (the front of the eye) to reflect light to the retina (the back of the eye).

The crystalline lens in your eye is made out of water and protein particles. With time, these components make the crystalline lens become very stiff and yellow preventing light from properly reaching the back of the eye, creating a distorted or dim image.

Over time, the clouded area of your lens can become larger and thicker making your vision even more blurred and foggy. You could compare it to looking through a frosted glass window or looking through the dirty windshield of a car.

Cataract surgery is not treated with a laser, but rather an ultrasound called phacoemulsifaction.

Dr. Wiens creates an opening on the side of the eye and uses this modern technique to break up the cataract with high frequency ultrasound waves. Then the cataract is extracted and replaced with a clear artificial lens. Depending on the type of lens implant you choose, you may only require a pair of glasses for some specific tasks.

Cataract surgery is one of the safest, painless and most common surgical procedures. Although you will be at the hospital for several hours, you will typically be in the surgery suite for about thirty minutes.

Cataract surgery facts:

Cataract procedures have an overall success rate of 98% or greater.

Each year, about 300,000 procedures are performed in Canada, and about 14,000 procedures in Manitoba.

Background I became a believer in femtosecond flap creation in 2005. While this technology was initially made available to my practice in 2000, I elected to allow the learning curve to progress be ..

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