Explore Laser Cataract Surgery with a Caring and Experienced Surgeon
Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most successful surgeries performed today across all of medicine. Studies have shown consistent success rates above 98%, with the great majority of patients experiencing no long term complications, better vision than before cataract surgery, and a higher quality of life.
Laser cataract surgery has made this common procedure even safer, more precise, and often with better vision outcomes.
As your cataracts worsen (a natural process with aging), your blurriness and light halos can progress to double vision and poor night vision. Eventually, you won’t be able to perform basic tasks like driving or working on a computer. Sometimes the early stages of these changes go unnoticed by patients, as they happen so gradually.
Standard cataract surgery is considered medically necessary and is covered by Medicare and most insurance plans. Patients who select laser cataract surgery (for its increased safety profile) and/or premium intraocular lenses (for better visual outcomes) will pay additional costs not covered by Medicare or insurance plans.
After cataract removal, most patients fully recover within a week, many within a couple days.
If you’re in need of cataract surgery, click the button below to book an appointment with Dr. Cohen, one of the most experienced cataract surgeons in New York City and New Jersey. He’ll walk you through all your options.
Quick Guide to Cataract Surgery
What Causes Cataracts?
Cataracts occur when the naturally clear lens of your eye becomes cloudy and yellow. The cataract itself is your lens, which has become opaque or nearly opaque. Cataracts usually occur in older adults as natural proteins in the eye begin clumping together, making it hard for light to reach the back of the eye.
Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. They are not contagious, and don’t spread from one eye to your other eye. Less commonly, cataracts also form in infants whose mothers had certain types of infections during pregnancy or in children with metabolic diseases.
But in most cases, cataracts form as a result of natural age-related changes to your body. The average age of people getting cataract surgery in the US has fallen to 65-70 due to better outcomes and improved surgical techniques. Waiting for surgery until your cataracts have “matured” offers no practical benefits.
Besides age, other causes of cataracts include:
- Long-term steroid use
- Trauma to the eye
- Diabetes
- Radiation Exposure
Do All Cataracts Need to Be Removed with Surgery?
In the early stages, cataracts can have minimal impact on vision. People can often compensate using glasses or additional lighting. Over time, cataracts will progress, and surgery is necessary in order to restore your vision.
How Are Cataracts Removed? A Typical Surgical Experience
Again, cataract removal surgery is one of the safest procedures performed in the U.S. today, especially when performed by an experienced surgeon. Because the lens itself has been clouded, the only way to ‘cure’ cataracts is to remove your eye’s natural lens and replace it with a manufactured one – called an intraocular lens (IOL).
The procedure begins with a gentle numbing of your eye using eye drops. You will not feel any discomfort during the surgery, and it usually takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
If you’re undergoing laser cataract surgery, your surgeon uses a laser to make tiny incisions in your eye, and then carefully breaks apart your lens and removes it using gentle sound waves and suction. If you’re undergoing standard cataract surgery, a tiny blade is used to make the initial incision.
Next, the replacement lens (IOL) is inserted to serve the same function as your eye’s natural lens. The incision is closed, and the eye begins to heal.
You will be prescribed anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops to use as a precaution, but most patients recover within a day or two and never experience any notable pain.
At both our NY and NJ offices, all cataract surgery patients are provided transportation to and from the surgical center. If you need cataract surgery for both eyes, typically you’ll do one eye at a time a few weeks apart.
Laser Cataract Surgery - Safer, Better Results
The most preferred method of cataract surgery is called FLACS – femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, or more commonly, laser cataract surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon uses a laser to make the incisions in your eye instead of a blade. This reduces the risk of tissue damage, inflammation, infection and other complications, and offers more precise incisions with better visual outcomes.
Learn more about laser cataract surgery
The newest “Next Generation” Intraocular lenses (IOLs) for cataract Surgery in Queens, New York & New Jersey:
Next generation intraocular lenses (premium IOLs) are designed to give you your best range of vision and help reduce dependence on glasses. They each have a slightly different function and no single type of premium intraocular lens is best for every patient. For this reason, your surgeon’s experience with each of these lenses will play an important role in obtaining the right lens for you.
Learn more about cataract replacement lens types
Additional Questions about Cataract Surgery
How long does it take for blurriness to go away after cataract surgery?
Within 1-2 days, most patients experience a full recovery.
What causes cloudiness in the eye after cataract surgery?
Sometimes, the capsule that holds the lens can develop cloudiness after surgery. This is called PCO – posterior capsular opacification. It’s relatively easy to treat if necessary.
Get more information about cataract removal surgery by clicking the links below. Or, get all your questions answered in your cataract surgery consultation.
What is a Cataract?
Modern Cataract Surgery
What Causes Cataracts?
Cataract Surgery & Presbyopia
Cataracts & Astagimitism
Cataract Surgery Costs
Cataract Surgery & Glaucoma
Cataract Lens Options
Cataract Surgery Recovery
Cataract Surgery FAQs (link to FAQ page)
