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What is a cataract?
A cataract is a clouding (usually gradual) of the eye's natural lens. Although cataracts can affect people of any age, they are most common in older adults. Six in ten adults over age 60 have symptoms of cataracts.
More than a million cataract operations will be performed nationwide this year alone. At the Omaha Eye & Laser Institute and Lincoln Eye & Laser Institute we offer the most advanced micro-surgical techniques in the comfort of our AAAHC accredited surgery center.
What are the symptoms of a cataract?
Because the cloudy lens allows less light to reach the retina, distance and/or reading vision is often fuzzy and indistinct through the affected eye.
Other key symptoms of cataracts:
- Difficulty reading small print such as the newspaper
- Difficulty driving, especially at night
- Annoying glare from sunlight and or car headlights
- Cloudy or hazy vision
- Diminished color perception
What should I do if I suspect that I have a cataract?
If you suspect a cataract, we recommend that you see your family doctor of optometry or call the Omaha Eye & Laser Institute at
What should I expect when undergoing cataract surgery?
Cataract surgery is outpatient. During surgery your eye if fully anesthetized so that there is no pain or discomfort. You also will receive IV anti-anxiety medicine to make sure you are relaxed and comfortable throughout the procedure. Unless you have special health problems or insurance requirements, your surgery will be performed in our comfortable, friendly, AAAHC accredited outpatient surgery center at the Omaha Eye & Laser Institute and Lincoln Eye & Laser Institute.
Although it may vary, surgery usually takes 15 to 30 minutes. We usually have patients arrive an hour before surgery and stay about 45 minutes after the procedure before going home. You will not be allowed to drive yourself home, but you will probably be able to drive to your one day post-operative visit the next day (assuming you were driving before surgery). If you have difficulty with transportation, please let us know. We can help arrange it.
What happens during cataract surgery?
Cataract surgery involves removing the cloudy natural lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens implant (IOL). Drs. John and James Liu use state of the art micro-surgical techniques using a sophisticated ultrasonic device (phacoemulsification) to remove the lens and replace it with the intraocular lens implant. The implant is held in place by the outer capsule that surrounds your original lens. The IOL implant helps your eye focus properly after surgery but you will most likely need glasses prescribed by your family optometrist about four weeks after surgery.
Intraocular lenses are about the size of Lincoln's head on a penny and weigh the same as a kernel of corn. They are polished to the precise curvature needed to bend light rays into focus on the retina at the back of your eye. At the Omaha Eye & Laser Institute and Lincoln Eye & Laser Institute we use the new IOL Master™ technology to provide the most accurate measurements to determine the correct power of your IOL.
New lens for cataract patients
A new artificial lens (intraocular lens) that often can restore sight at near, intermediate, and distant ranges following cataract surgery has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
The clinical studies supporting the approval showed that 80 percent of patients who received the AcrySof ReSTOR® lens did not use glasses for any activities after cataract surgery.
Other intraocular lenses may produce vision at all ranges by depending on the action of the eye's muscles (accommodation). But the AcrySof ReSTOR® lens provides different ranges of vision based on a lens configuration that enables specific distribution of light in response to how wide or small the eye's pupil might be. This light distribution design is called apodized diffractive optics.
Most current intraocular lenses used for cataract surgery are able to restore vision only in limited distance ranges, which means patients often must use eyeglasses or other corrective lenses following surgery.