There is a painless, gradual decrease in vision. Early cataract is associated with difficulty in reading in normal light conditions, and extra illumination is required. Excessive glare and reduced sharpness can make night driving difficult. Some experience a rapid change in the number/power of glasses.
In advanced cases there is a complete loss of sight and lens becomes pearly white in colour.
If you experience any of the following issues, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor immediately:

• Cloudy or blurry vision
• Double vision (diplopia)
• Fading of colours
• Seeing halos around lights
• An increased sensitivity to glare
• A distortion of vision that makes objects appear as if you’re looking at them through a veil.

There is a painless, progressive reduction of vision. Initially, some help is achieved by changing the spectacle number, but in advance cases, the spectacles also prove to be ineffective.

Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, accounting for approximately 42 percent of all cases of blindness in all the countries, luckily its easily treatable in the present age through a simple surgery.

Cataract is a long-term problem that usually starts developing around the age of 40 and intensifies by the time an individual attains the age of 50 to 60. It is also caused by eye-trauma, long-term diabetes, corticosteroid medications or radiation treatments.

Some infants are also afflicted by cataract, which is caused as a result of infections during pregnancy. The disorder can also be a symptom of metabolic disease affecting the body’s processing of carbohydrates, amino acids, calcium or copper among infants and young kids. If left untreated, cataracts might also lead to blindness.

There is usually no visible scarring, but at times the white of the eye can have a degree of redness.

You may go home with an eye pad and shield, or just a shield. The pad can be removed after the first hour. The shield should be worn at night for the first week.

The eye may feel gritty, and sometimes you may experience some mild headache. These symptoms are common. The discomfort should rapidly improve over the next 24 hours. There should be no worsening of your symptoms. If your discomfort or a headache should deteriorate, you should contact your doctor immediately.

Your vision will normally be much better on Day 2. Sometimes there can be some blurring or misting in the eye, but this should improve over the course of the day. If you feel your vision is becoming more blurred, contact your hospital immediately.

If you take part in a sport that risks a poke in the eye, you should discuss returning to these activities with your surgeon before the operation. You should not go swimming for the first 2 to 4 weeks to minimize the risk of infection. When cycling in the first few weeks following surgery, keep your sunglasses on to reduce the impact of dust.

Every person recovers differently and has different needs. Surgery normally has a very quick recovery, and the majority of individuals can normally get back to work almost immediately.

Jobs that are more physically demanding and involve exposure to liquids or dust might require a more graduated return to full activities, but are best discussed with your surgeon.

The lens which is placed in the eye is of a fixed power. The power of the lens for a particular eye is calculated with the help of an eye ultrasound. After surgery, routine distance activities can be carried out without glasses. For reading, glasses would be required.

You may opt to choose for lenses which provide you vision for distance and near. In such cases, dependency on glasses is reduced.

Patent protection is territorial right and therefore it is effective only within the territory of India. However, filing an application in India enables the applicant to file a corresponding application for same invention in convention countries, within or before expiry of twelve months from the filing date in India. Therefore, separate patents should be obtained in each country where the applicant requires protection of his invention in those countries. There is no patent valid worldwide.

Cataract surgery has now become a refractive surgery, and the goal is not just to remove the opacified cataractous lens but also to reduce dependency on glasses.

Routine surgery can only correct the spherical component of the eye leaving behind the cylinder power which has to be later corrected by additional prescription glasses.

With advancements in surgical techniques and IOL (artificial lens) designs, today both spherical and cylinder components of the eye can easily be corrected with the highest precision.

The cylinder component in Cataract Surgery can be corrected by three ways

• LRI or Limbal Relaxing Incisions: In this technique, a Femto Laser is used to give highly precise incisions at the periphery of the cornea to induce cylinder correction. Since these incisions are given by a laser, it can only be coupled with a Femto Cataract Surgery.
• Toric Lenses with Verion Digital Axis Marking: Toric lenses are special lenses which have both cylinder, and spherical component build in one lens. Since cylinder axis varies in individual eyes, the lens has to be aligned to the specific axis of the individual. In such cases, even a minor deviation from the original axis can cause significant disturbance in final visual outcomes. Now with the introduction of Verion Digital Axis Marking system, these toric lenses can be aligned with outmost precision, up to 1 degree.
• Toric Lenses with Manual Marking: As discussed above, the final visual outcome in a toric lens depends on how precisely it is aligned to the original cylindrical axis of the eye. Since the manual markings cannot be as precise as digital markings, the manual system may give slightly inferior results compared to the digital system.

It is easier and safer to operate on an immature cataract. As it matures, it tends to become harder requiring more energy to do the same job. Beyond a certain limit, excess energy may cause harm to the eye.