The skin around the eye
is cleaned with a special fluid which
kills bacteria and makes the area aseptic.
A sterile plastic sheet is then placed
over you and a hole made in it over the
eye which is to be operated. Fresh oxygen
is pumped under the sheet so that the
patient is in fact lying in an oxygen
tent.
Do not read this part if you prefer
not to know how the operation is done.
An incision is made into the white of the
eye just under the upper lid using a blade
made of diamond, this is less the half the
width of your small fingernail. It is made
in such a way that it acts like a valve
so that nothing can leak out during or after
the operation. Minimal cautery is used as
too much can cause the eye to defocus later.
This means that the incision can look bloody
in the days after the operation.
(Some
surgeons cut directly through the cornea
rather than the white of the eye but that
incision has a few disadvantages.)
The tissue which wraps the cataract is peeled
open and an ultrasonic
probe breaks the cataract down into
a fluid which is then washed out of the
eye.
When this stage of the operation has been
completed the implant is inserted into the space that was occupied
by the cataract. Once inside the eye the
implant unfolds like a flower blossoming.
When we withdraw the instruments from the
eye the valve-like cut snaps shut and the
eyeball seals itself. No stitches are used.
The operation is then over.
You then return to the ward area with a
clear shield over the operated eye and when
ready you may go home The ophthalmic nurse
will have instructed you how to instill
your drops and how to clean your eye. For
the first few hours after the operation
the eye may look very red. Sometimes the
vision can be very smeary. There can be
some pain and or headache as the anaesthetic
drops wear off. This is common but wears
off. You should take your preferred painkiller
as required during this time.
Below is a video of the actual Cataract Surgery carried out by John Bolger.
If you wish yo view this video in full screen please click here