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Cataracts - Medical Negligence Compensation
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Cataracts are clouding of the lens of the eye so that vision is obscured. It looks as though the individual with the cataract is looking at the world through a fogged up or frosty window. Cloudy vision can make it difficult to drive or to read, especially in dim light. Cataracts develop very slowly and don't affect your vision until you are well advanced in having the cataract. Over time and without treatment, however, every cataract will progress and will eventually obstruct your vision.
You can deal with your poor vision initially through using a stronger light and eyeglasses but eventually surgery is the only thing that really works. The signs and symptoms of having cataracts include having increased difficulty with night vision, cloudy or blurry vision, sensitivity to light, problems with fading or yellowing of color, seeing halos around lights, frequently changing prescriptions in glasses or contact lenses or having double vision.
In a part of the vision, there may be serious problems and no problems in other parts of the vision. The cataract can gradually spread across the eye so that the vision becomes more and more of a problem. A cataract forms in the lens of the eye which is positioned behind the iris or colored part of the eye. The lens is what puts light and images onto the back of your eye, making the vision crisp and sharp. If there is a cataract, the clear, sharp-looking lens is cloudy and the rays of light get diffused. The vision becomes blurry.
The lens thickens and becomes less flexible over time as a part of the normal aging process. Cataracts cause proteins to clump together so that the clouding becomes denser and denser, involving a greater aspect of the lens. One or both eyes can develop a cataract.
There are several types of cataracts, including cataracts that affect the middle portion of the lens, called "nuclear cataracts". A nuclear cataract may cause increased nearsightedness and then causes and increase in density and yellowness of the lens. You can easily see multiple or double vision. You have problems telling the difference between colors.
There are cataracts called cortical cataracts which affect the edges of the lenses. It progresses inward, eventually affecting the entire lens. These people often have problems with glare when they're trying to see something. There are also posterior "subcapsular" types of cataracts. These start in the back of the lens and reduce bright light vision and cause halos and glare problems. You can be born with cataracts, known as congenital cataracts. Certain syndromes have congenital cataracts as a part of the syndrome. They may or may not affect the vision.
Risk factors for cataracts include being of older age, having diabetes, sun exposure, drinking too much alcohol, having a family history of cataracts, having high blood pressure or exposure to ionizing radiation. Obesity or history of eye inflammation can be risk factors. Having eye surgery, smoking and having prolonged usage of steroid medications can contribute to getting cataracts.
Tests for cataracts include doing a visual acuity test to see what your vision is. A slit lamp examination allows the eye doctor to see all the structures of your eye and to see if there are cataracts present. The doctor may dilate the eyes and can use that to see what's going on in the retina. This test can also identify the presence of a cataract in the eye.
Cataracts are really only treated with surgery. Cataract surgery is done when your quality of life is affected and when you can't see to do activities of daily living. As cataracts don't damage your eye, you can wait until you are ready to have the cataract removed. Your doctor can help you define the best time for a cataract surgery.
In a cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is replaced with a plastic implanted lens. It is put in the same place as a regular lens. Sometimes no lens is replaced in the space where the old lens was but eyeglasses are used to correct the vision. One eye is done at a time and a few weeks or so are used between the different surgeries. Local anesthesia is all that is required to have the cataract surgery.