Sayyid Nadimi, 66, had been wearing over-the-counter reading glasses for years, and his vision was deteriorating. He knew it was getting worse because, over time, he’d had to gradually increase the focusing strength of the glasses he bought, from less than a +1.0 “diopter” — that’s a measure of the eyewear’s magnifying power — all the way up to +3.0.
Even with the stronger lenses, though, it became increasingly harder to read his already-enlarged computer screen, or the texts on his cellphone. In order to see them better, the electrical engineer says he took to stashing “four or five” magnifying glasses around his house in Dallas.
Deciphering restaurant menus and driving after dark became problematic, too. “Looking at the cars in front of me, each back light … looked like 20 lights,” Nadimi says. “So, from behind, instead of having two red lights from the brake for each car, it would be hundreds, and you couldn’t tell which was which.”
After having suffered, and recovered, from a rare bacterial eye infection about seven years ago, Nadimi knew it was time to consult an eye doctor about his weakening vision. He was ultimately referred to Dr. Gregory Nettune, a cornea, cataract and refractive surgeon/specialist who examined Nadimi and determined that he needed cataract surgery. An outpatient procedure was scheduled for Nadimi’s right eye this past January, with surgery on his left eye to follow in February.
Cataracts like Nadimi’s, which commonly develop in people in their 60s and 70s, occur when the normally clear lenses of one’s eyes become cloudy, and objects begin to look blurry or less colorful. More than half of all Americans who reach age 80 either have cataracts or have had surgery to get rid of them, says the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
“Over the next probably 10 years or so, there’s estimated to be more and more patients needing cataract surgery, as the baby boomers age into that category,” says Nettune, a partner-physician at Cornea Associates of Texas in Dallas, which is one of multiple facilities that perform such surgeries in North Texas.
Surgery, which is the only way to remove cataracts, involves removing and replacing the “cloudy” lens with a new synthetic one. The procedure becomes necessary only when cataracts start interfering with everyday work or leisure activities.
“If you live long enough, everybody gets a cataract, because it’s just the natural aging of your lens,” Nettune says. “Cataract surgery is rarely that urgent, and the main reason we do it is to help patients with their visual symptoms.”
Dating back to the fifth century B.C., cataract surgery has advanced in sophistication over the years, especially in the last few decades. Today, it’s considered to be remarkably safe, with brief recovery times and few complications.
At Cornea Associates of Texas, surgeons use a technique called “phacoemulsification,” which is performed with local anesthesia and minimal sedation. The procedure involves making a small incision in the eye, then using ultrasonic vibrations to break the cataract into tiny fragments before implanting an artificial, or “intraocular,” lens. The whole procedure takes less than half an hour. (See sidebar.)
Another of Nettune’s patients, Dallas real estate investor Robert Shive, 65, says he began experiencing blurry vision despite wearing contact lenses and reading glasses. He, too, was diagnosed with cataracts before undergoing the phacoemulsification procedure on each eye earlier this year.
An active traveler and athlete who says he has “the body of a 30-year-old,” Shive runs marathons, rides a bicycle, and plays pickleball and basketball. So having the vision procedures, he says, made him extremely happy.
“I’m sitting here on my deck and I can see, you know, trees. The deep detail is just amazing,” Shive says. “It really is empowering. I feel like I’m 20 years old all over again. I’m super excited about that.”
Following the surgery on his right eye, Nadimi, too, was pleased with the results — even as he left Cornea Associates after the operation.
“As my daughter put me in the car and started driving, I looked at the cars in front and, my gosh, what vivid colors!” he says. “Then when I got home, I looked at the walls of my house, and the wall was white, where before it looked creamish-white, or off-color. And I’m using my computer with the biggest screen without any glasses. Everything is so precise.”
Cataract surgery: What should you expect?
Cataract surgery is a low-risk outpatient procedure and one of the most common operations in the United States. Here’s what a patient should expect before, during and after such surgery, according to organizations including the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and the American Academy of Ophthalmology:
- Prior to the procedure, your surgeon will measure your eye to determine the correct focusing power of the synthetic lens to be inserted. Anyone who wears contact lenses should stop wearing them 10 to 14 days before this evaluation, advises Dr. Gregory Nettune of Cornea Associates of Texas in Dallas. That’s because contacts could warp the cornea — the clear, protective outer layer at the front of the eye — and distort the assessment’s results.
- When scheduling the procedure itself, Nettune recommends allowing about a week of time following the operation to take things easy physically, and so you can stick close to home, in case any concerning symptoms should develop.
- You might be asked to start taking prescription eye-drop medicines before the surgery, in order to prevent infection and reduce swelling. Nettune’s patient Sayyid Nadimi, for example, says he was asked to use eye drops the day before his procedure — and then for four weeks afterward.
- You may be instructed to refrain from eating solid food for at least six hours before the scheduled surgery, and to stop taking certain medicines for a time.
- On the day of the operation, your eye will be numbed with a local anesthetic and, while you’ll be awake during the procedure, you won’t see or feel what’s happening to your eye. Nettune says that, in addition to the local, his patients also receive an IV sedation, leaving them relaxed and “breathing on their own.” Different patients recall different things about the actual surgery. While Nadimi says he can’t remember the operation at all, Nettune’s patient Robert Shive says he was “awake the whole time and talking to the doctor. … It was just the oddest thing, and I was extremely comfortable throughout.”
- Once the half-hour-long procedure is over, you’ll rest in a recovery area for up to 30 minutes or so before leaving with someone who’s agreed to drive you home.
- For a week after the surgery, it will be important not to press on your eye or get soap or water in it. You’ll also be asked to wear a plastic protective eye shield during that period when you sleep.
- If needed, surgery on the second eye will usually be scheduled after the first eye heals.
- Typically, the costs of medically necessary cataract surgery are covered by Medicare and private health insurance plans.
According to studies, most patients are satisfied with their surgeries. Says Shive: “I’m very, very, very, very happy with how the whole process worked — and with the result.”