Cataract is a dangerous disease of the eye, which often leads to complete blindness. The only effective way to cure pathology is to remove the clouded areas of the lens, which have ceased to perform their functions, and installing instead of them an artificial intraocular lens. Earlier surgical therapy consisted in manual tunnel extraction, now phacoemulsification of cataract with implantation of IOLs is increasingly used, as a more modern and hi-tech method.
What is the phacoemulsification of cataracts with the implantation of the intraocular lens?
The essence of this operation is the crushing and removal of dead (clouded) areas of the lens. In place of these non-functional areas, an implant is installed - a soft artificial intraocular lens. It has a memory of form and completely takes over the functions of the damaged lens.
How is the procedure for ultrasound phacoemulsification of cataract with implantation of the IOL?
Sequence of actions during surgery:
- Local anesthesia.
- Execution along the periphery of the cornea incision up to 2 mm in length.
- Introduction of an ultrasound device into the anterior chamber of the eye.
- Simultaneous injection of viscoelastic to protect the internal eye structures.
- Formation of a notch on the capsule of the lens.
- Crushing and transformation of turbidity into emulsion.
- Suctioning of damaged lens tissue.
- Introduction through the incision on the capsule of a flexible IOL, previously folded in the form of a tube.
- Wash the viscoelastic from the anterior chamber of the eye by means of an irrigation solution.
Collapsed intraocular lens, getting into the lens cavity, straightens there independently, acquiring an ideally suitable shape and securely fixing.
It is worth noting that, due to the microscopic dimensions of the incision on the cornea, no suturing is required after the operation. Therefore, the recovery period takes a minimum period, and in general, surgical intervention is non-traumatic.
Complications of phacoemulsification of cataracts with IOL implantation
Possible consequences of the operation:
- damage to ligament ligament;
- displacement of the IOL;
- third-party injury of the cornea from ultrasound;
- rupture of the capsule of the lens;
- loss of vitreous body.
It is important to remember that the risk of complications depends directly on the professionalism of the surgeon.