How the Eye Works Before we begin the discussion about cataracts and cataract surgery, I’d like to first introduce you to the way the eye works.  I find it most helpful to think of the eye as a video camera hooked up to a TV monitor.  A video camera has a lens to focus the light, film (or electronic sensors) to capture the image, and a cable to transmit the image to the monitor or recording device.  In a similar manner, the eye...

The final post in my three part “Expectation” series: The Day After Surgery 1) You should arrive at your surgeon’s office at the scheduled time (usually in the morning). Please bring your drops with you. 2) Your surgeon’s staff will remove your eye shield and check your vision. Your vision may or may not be better the first day after surgery as there are many variables that can affect vision early after surgery. Â...

Over the course of this blog I will try to address all of the common questions I get asked by my patients.  Many of these questions have to do with expectations.  The next few posts will be about the mundane activities that surround cataract surgery: the stuff you can do, the stuff you should do, and the stuff you should not do. Note: these posts will reflect my personal preferences.  Other surgeons will have their own set of...

All right.  Here we are.  The final installment.  All that’s left now is to ‘close’ and double-check: The incisions were then hydrated… One method of closing the incision is to hydrate’ it.  Essentially, a sterile salt solution is injected into the cornea.  This results in a local swelling around the incision forcing the incision closed. Often this acts as a substitute for suturing the incision. ...

We’re almost done.  Believe it or not, however, these last steps can take up almost a third of the total time of surgery: A single 10-0 Vicryl suture was then placed in the temporal corneal incision and the knot was buried in the corneal stroma. These sutures are incredibly thin (about as thick as a strand of blond baby hair), difficult to work with (ever tried tying a knot of thin hair?), and expensive (about $15 per suture).  Thus,...