At Heaton Eye Associates, we perform cataract surgery with a "No-Shot, No-Stitch, No-Patch" procedure. No shots are needed because the anesthetic is a topical numbing drop, specific to the eye itself. No stitches are needed, and no patch is needed to cover the eye. As a result, our patients are in and out of the surgery center in two to three hours, seeing well and ready to go home.

Cataracts are the leading cause of poor vision in adults. But there is good news! Cataracts can be successfully treated more than 95% of the time!

A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s lens. In normal vision, light enters the eye, passing through the lens, and is focused on the retina at the back of the eye. But when the lens is cloudy, light is blocked, and the image that reaches the retina is cloudy, therefore making one's vision poor. Glare and dull appearances of color are common complaints from people with cataracts.

The cataract is caused by a change in the chemical composition of the lens. The most common cause is natural…it is the result of age. And, unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this age-related development. But cataracts can occur at any age, and may even be present at birth. Cataracts can be the result of injury, infections or other eye diseases. Vision loss is usually gradual as the cataract develops.

Unfortunately, cataracts cannot be cured by medication, eye drops or other forms of treatment. The only way to restore clear vision is to remove the cloudy lens, and replace it with a new lens. This artificial lens can be in the form of cataract glasses, or an implant into the eye. The intraocular lens implant (IOL) is the most effective replacement lens used today. There have been great advances in intraocular lens implants.

The lens is implanted during cataract surgery. This surgery is usually done as an outpatient in our own surgery center, the Heaton Laser and Surgery Center.

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