A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens. The lens is located just behind the iris (the coloured part of the eye). It is approximately the size of a Smartie®, and it is responsible for focusing the incoming light onto the retina, which is the ‘camera film’ at the back of the eye.

As your lens becomes cloudy, it obscures the incoming light from reaching your retina. Cataract therefore reduces your quality of vision.  Cataract formation is accelerated by UV light, diabetes, short-sightedness, eye trauma, eye inflammation (iritis), certain eye surgeries, and corticosteroid medications.

Cataracts tend to occur after age 60. Cataract formation affects thousands of Australians every year and cataract surgery is one of the most common, and most successful, surgical procedures worldwide.

Your eye’s lens is located just behind the iris (the coloured part of the eye). It is approximately the size of a Smartie®, and it is responsible for focusing the incoming light onto your retina, which is the ‘camera film’ at the back of the eye. As your lens becomes cloudy, it obscures the incoming light from reaching your retina. Cataract therefore reduces your clarity of vision.

Even though cataract is a simple problem to understand, cataracts cause a wide range of different eye symptoms. This is because cataract doesn’t only make the lens cloudy - it also changes the colour of the lens and its focusing power.

Reduced clarity of vision.

A cataract absorbs and scrambles the incoming light. This causes the image that you see to be dimmed and blurred, even with updated glasses.

Difficulty driving at night due to glare 

A cataract is like a dirty chandelier. Rather than focusing the image onto your retina, a cataract scatters the light, causing car headlights to be dazzling. 

Changes in your glasses prescription

A cataract is made of living cells, and as such, it is constantly changing. As the cataract develops, the focus of your eye will change. 

Reduced vibrancy of colours.

Cataracts are yellow in colour. They therefore cause your eyesight to be dull and slightly yellowed. Following cataract surgery, most patients are amazed that the colours they see are much more vibrant!

No noticeable symptoms whatsoever!

If you’ve been told that you have cataract but haven't noticed the above symptoms, don’t worry. Because cataracts develop slowly, many patients don’t recognise the change. However, when cataract surgery is performed, these patients are typically thrilled by the improvement in clarity and colours!

Cataracts are a normal ageing change, tending to occur after age 60. However, cataract formation is accelerated by UV light, diabetes, short-sightedness, eye trauma, eye inflammation (iritis), certain eye surgeries, and corticosteroid medications.

Cataract formation affects thousands of Australians every year and cataract surgery is one of the most common, and most successful, surgical procedures worldwide.

Cataracts are classified into different subtypes according to their appearance, as well as the location of the clouding within the lens.

The three most common forms of cataracts are: 

• Nuclear sclerosis cataract
• Cortical cataract
• Posterior subcapsular cataract

Each form of cataract has slightly different symptoms. Many patients have a combination of several types of cataract.

If you’ve been told that you have cataracts then you should see an eye surgeon (ophthalmologist). They will assess your cataract severity, screen your eyes for other diseases, and discuss your treatment options with you.

Surgery is the only treatment for cataracts. Although eyedrops have been investigated as a potential future treatment of cataract, this research is still in its infancy. Unfortunately, eyedrop treatment is unlikely to ever be viable.

The decision to have cataract surgery is based on your cataract severity and your symptoms. There is no set “cutoff” of when cataract surgery is appropriate, and a cataract does not suddenly become “ripe” for surgery. Some patients will choose to have their cataract treated sooner, and others will choose to wait.

The timing of cataract surgery is a joint decision made between you and your eye surgeon.

You should consider the following factors when deciding if cataract surgery is right for you:

• Your cataract symptoms. The most common symptoms of cataract are blurred vision and difficulty driving at night. However, since cataracts develop slowly, it can be difficult for an individual to recognise how their vision has deteriorated. Your ophthalmologist should be able to predict how much improvement you can expect from your cataract surgery.
• Your cataract severity. Patients with advanced cataract have more to gain than patients with mild cataract.
• Your visual needs. Patients who engage in demanding visual activities, such as night driving and prolonged reading, may be motivated to have their cataract treated sooner. Patients who do not engage in demanding visual activities may be more inclined to wait.
• Your surgical risks and willingness to undergo medical procedures.
• Your age and health. Many patients choose to have their cataracts treated while they are still in good health.
• The financial investment required to have cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery should be performed by a specialist cataract surgeon. If you need help deciding who to perform your cataract surgery, you can read about Dr Nick Andrew’s expertise and experience here

Cataract surgery is performed as a walk-in, walk-out procedure in a day surgery. The surgery takes approximately 20 minutes and is performed under deep sedation. Most of Dr Andrew’s patients have absolutely no recollection of the operating theatre! As per Australian standards, one eye is treated at a time, and Dr Andrew usually schedules your two operations 3-7 days apart.

During cataract surgery, your cloudy cataract is replaced with a new, high-definition, artificial lens implant. This artificial intraocular lens (IOL) lasts for life. It refocuses your vision to enable you to see clearly. If a new lens were not implanted, your vision would be severely defocused and you would require extremely thick glasses. 

Achieving world-class cataract surgery results is an art. It require state-of-the-art equipment, high attention to detail, customised lens implants, and the skills of an experienced surgeon. 

Cataract surgery is Dr Andrew’s core line of work and our clinic, Sight Specialists, is purpose-built to help his patients achieve the very best results.

The idea of eye surgery can be daunting, but fortunately the recovery is very easy! Most of Dr Andrew’s cataract patients achieve “20/20” vision within 1-2 days, and most return to normal activities 48 hours after their surgery.

However, you may notice that your clarity of vision fluctuates during the first month. This is due to dry eye, which occurs for a few weeks following any eye surgery. 

Most of Dr Andrew’s patients report either no discomfort or only minor eye irritation for a few days. 

After your cataract surgery, you can do everything you normally do, with a few important exceptions:

• No driving for 24 hours.
• No eye make-up for 5 days.
• No eye rubbing for 2 weeks.
• No swimming or heavy weight lifting for 2 weeks.

Dr Andrew is a trusted cataract surgeon who performs well over a thousand cataract operations every year. He has also been trained by the most influential ophthalmologist in the world (Dr Ike Ahmed). This prestigious training has given him the surgical skills to manage difficult cataracts and to also perform complex corrective operations for patients experiencing problems after cataract surgery. 

But what sets Dr Andrew apart most is his attention to detail when planning surgery for his patients. At Sight Specialists, we push the very limits of what is possible. Rather than measure your eye with one device, we use seven devices. Rather than use standard, default software to plan your surgery, Dr Andrew uses his own, custom-built software. The result is a surgical plan that is as perfect as modern technology permits. This approach is unique to Dr Andrew’s clinic and it is fundamental to achieving leading cataract surgery results.

Cataract surgery is an investment in yourself, as your vision is one of the few things that you use every waking moment of your life. For this reason, cataract surgery is ranked as one of the greatest cost-benefit health procedures in medicine! 

Uninsured patients will usually have a total out of pocket cost between two thousand dollars and six thousand dollars per eye, depending on the cataract surgery that they are having.

If you have private health insurance, then this will bring down the cost of your care by several thousand dollars per eye.

Beware that there can be hidden fees with cataract surgery. Therefore, when comparing different clinics, always ensure that you are comparing the total out of pocket cost of your entire treatment journey, from first appointment through to final discharge. And also ensure that you are comparing “apples with apples”. 

Cataract surgery will set your eyesight for the rest of your life, so it is worth doing right.

Like all surgical procedures, sometimes the body heals in unexpected ways. Patients from Queensland and interstate frequently travel to Dr Nick Andrew for him to correct imperfect cataract surgery performed elsewhere. Fortunately, if cataract surgery has not had the desired effect then it is possible to “redo” it. You can read about how Dr Andrew achieves this by clicking on the link below.