Stolte Eye Center
What Are Cataracts?
Dr. Stolte of Stolte Eye Center located in Spring Hill Florida is an ophthalmologist specializing in cataract surgery, and he had performed over 30,000 procedures in his careers. Please contact our office to schedule your evaluation.
For most, cataracts are a natural result of aging, and it is due to normal eye changes that happen to start around 40 years of age. The natural proteins in the lens start to break down, causing the lens to get cloudy, distorting blocking or scattering light making the images blurry. In some cases, a cataract may be caused by diabetes, steroid medications or eye injuries. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes, and it cannot spread from one eye to the other.
What are the Cataract Symptoms?
How is Cataracts Treated?
When a cataract starts to interfere with everyday activities, the cloudy lens (cataract) is removed during an outpatient surgery procedure with an Intra Ocular Lens (IOL) implant. There are many different IOL’s to choose from. Most widely used implant options are - Standard, Aspheric, Multifocal Reduce Astigmatism LRI, Toric IOL. Every cataract surgery candidate should consult our surgery counselors to help them make the right decision.
The only treatment for cataract is surgery. The cataract surgery is one of the safest outpatient procedures in the world, with 3.6 million cataract procedures performed in the United States and more than 20 million performed worldwide, according to estimates. Typically outpatient, requiring only a few hours for the procedure.
During the procedure, a tiny incision is made by Dr. Stolte to allow a small instrument to break up the cloudy cataract lens that has affected your vision and replaces it with a clear, artificial, intraocular lens. Most patients can achieve a noticeable improvement in their vision thanks to this procedure. Not that long ago cataract surgery used to require a large incision in the eye to remover the cataract and to insert the IOL. That incision is then sutured. The small incision cataract surgery is using phacoemulsification, high-frequency sound waves known as ultrasound. The sound waves break the eye's internal lens (emulsified with an ultrasonic handpiece) and aspirated from the eye. The foldable IOL is then inserted through the same incision. The IOL is rotated to its final position through same tiny Incision, and once inside the eye, these lenses unfold and return to their original shape. Post surgery, prescription eye drops are prescribed to guard against infection/inflammation and a follow-up visit same day/24 hours. Most patients resume normal activities the next day.
After the cataract surgery
After the cataract surgery, your vision will begin to improve within a few days. Your vision may be blurry at first as your eye heals and adjusts. The colors may seem brighter and more vivid because you are looking through a new, clear lens. A cataract is usually cloudy, yellow or brown tinted before surgery. You will need to see your physician after the surgery to monitor your recovery.
Small incision cataract surgery is less invasive, allows patients to resume normal activities soon after surgery, and provides the fastest recovery of vision.