Cataract Surgery

At the Himalayan Eye Institute, 3 types of cataract surgery are availabe:
a) Micro-Phaco - Surgery is performed through a 2.2 mm incision, and a foldable IOL is implanted. It has the most rapid recovery time and minimal post-operative pain.
b) Phaco - Surgery is performed through a 2.8 mm incision, and a foldable IOL is implanted. It also has rapid recovery time and minimal post-operative pain.
c) Manual SICS - Surgery is performed manually with a 6-7 mm incision and a rigid/foldable IOL is implanted. It has a slower recovery time.

A wide variety of lenses are available at the Himalayan Eye Institute:
a) Monofocal lenses - These lenses give clear vision for the distance after surgery. However, glasses will be required for near vision. They are available from both Indian and foreign manufacturer companies.
b) Trifocal lenses - These are advanced lenses which provide clear vision for distance, intermediate (eg. computer use) and near vision (eg reading) after surgery.
c) Toric lenses - These lenses are suitable for patients who have pre-existing high cylindrical power (astigmatism), which can be corrected by this lens.
d) EDOF lenses - Extended depth of focus lenses are the newest lenses available which give clear vision for the distance, as well as an extended range of vision from distance to intermediate. Glasses will be required for near vision after surgery.
Your doctor and cataract counsellor will discuss in detail with you the best suitable lenses for you after your eye's full checkup and understanding your daily activities and vision requirements. However, the final choice of lens lies with the patient after fully understanding all available options.

Foreign lenses usually come with additional features like better contrast sensitivity, crisp vision, higher clarity (like higher megapixel of camera), better lens stability, UV-absorbing and blue-light-filtering IOLs etc. However, Indian lens of high quality are also available with the above mentioned features. At the Himalayan Eye Institute, we use only those lenses which are time tested and widely used.
Once lens is put inside the eye, it is usually not removed or replaced during lifetime like we frequently change our spectacles. Hence, it is always advisable to opt for better quality lens, especially if patients do more outdoor activities, drive at night, spend significant time on computers, watching TV and mobile etc.

The most common cause of cataract formation is increasing age. Almost every human being will develop cataract in both their eyes in their lifetime. Poor nutrition, increased oxidative stress, smoking, co-existing eye disease, history of eye surgery, traumatic injury to the eye, co-existing systemic disease such as diabetes, may cause earlier formation of cataract.