Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to Prevent Blindness America, which declared June as Cataract Awareness Month. Cataracts affect more than 24 million Americans 40 and older. More than half of all Americans have cataracts by the time they are 80 years old, but cataracts can also appear in young adults or even newborns. Prevent Blindness America (PBA) estimates that by 2020, 30 million Americans will have cataracts. Unlike many other causes of vision loss, vision loss resulting from cataracts can be managed or significantly restored. There is no better time than Cataract Awareness Month to learn the symptoms and risk factors of ...
In this video Kim Fullone, Former Director of Clinical Services, and Dr. Ken Lindahl explain Cataracts,
Cataract Surgery, newer LASER cataract surgery techniques (
bladeless cataract surgery), and the range of new
multifocal intraocular lenses and costs available today. These lens options have changed what's possible in cataract surgery.
Watch and listen as Kim Fullone and Dr. Ken Lindahl answers questions from cataract patients like you.
What the heck is an IOL?
Available since the early 1980's, lens implants or as they are known in the ophthalmic world, Intraocular Lenses or "IOLs", began a major shift in the surgical treatment of cataracts. Previously, having cataracts removed meant eye drops, thick glasses and a significant amount of recovery time. In traditional cataract surgery, the eye's natural lens was removed completely. With nothing available to replace that lens, the eye had no natural focusing ability.