What Are the Treatment Options for Cataracts?

Cataract often occurs in many elderly people, which is a disease caused by genetics, immunity, metabolic disorders, and other reasons. Generally speaking, after the onset of the disease, patients' vision will decline, myopia will increase, and there will be some halo sensation. Early cataracts can slow the progression of the disease through clinical medication. Compared with drug treatment, surgical treatment has a more ideal effect. Various reasons such as aging, genetics, local nutritional disorders, immune and metabolic abnormalities, trauma, poisoning, radiation, etc., can cause metabolic disorders of the lens, leading to protein denaturation and turbidity of the lens, which is called cataracts. At this time, the light is blocked by the turbid lens and cannot be projected on the retina, leading to blurred vision. It is mostly seen in people over 40 years old, and the incidence rate increases with age.

1. Drug treatment is currently in the stage of exploration and research at home and abroad. For some early cataracts, the progression of the disease will slow down and the vision will also slightly improve after clinical medication. The early progression of cataracts to maturity is a relatively long process, and it may naturally stop at a certain stage of development without seriously affecting vision. Early cataracts can be treated with oral vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin E, etc., and some drugs can also be used to delay the progression of the disease. Usually, for some patients with moderate cataracts, their vision and the degree of lens turbidity can also be improved after medication. However, for mature cataracts, drug treatment has no practical significance.

2. Surgical treatment:

(1) Phacoemulsification of cataracts is a new type of cataract surgery developed at home and abroad in recent years. Ultrasound is used to crush the lens nucleus into an emulsion-like state, and then aspirate it together with the cortex. After the operation, the posterior capsule of the lens is retained, and a posterior chamber intraocular lens can be implanted at the same time. When senile cataracts develop to the point that vision is lower than 0.3, or the degree and location of cataracts significantly affect or interfere with visual function, and patients hope to have good visual quality, phacoemulsification cataract extraction surgery can be performed. Its advantages include small incision, less tissue damage, short operation time, and rapid vision recovery.

(2) Extracapsular cataract extraction has a smaller incision than intracapsular extraction, and the turbid lens nucleus is expelled and the cortex is aspirated, but the posterior capsule of the lens is retained. The posterior capsule is preserved, and a posterior chamber intraocular lens can be implanted at the same time, allowing immediate recovery of visual function after surgery. Therefore, extracapsular cataract extraction has become the routine surgical method for cataracts.