Better Brains After Cataract Surgery?!

As we get older and get cataracts we start to lose our ability to see blue light. Cataracts, especially the brownish nuclear sclerotic cataracts that are so common in aging, are nature's blue blockers! A small pilot study done in England has shown that removing cataracts and increasing the amount of blue light that reaches the retina boosts our brain function.

"Aging is asssociated with insomnia, depression , and cognitive decline," the study authors said. "Removal of a yellow cataract and replacement with a clear intraocular lens as a means of increasing blue-light trnasmission has potential benefits to non-visual brain responses."

These responses are linked to the melanopsin-dependent systems in the brain, specifically our circadian rhythm or wake/sleep schedule. In turn, a disruption in this cycle--older individuals tend to sleep less, sleep more poorly, and have more trouble staying on a regular sleep/wake schedule--is associated with not only depression but also a slowing of brain responses to all kinds of mental tasks.

15 individuals with an average age of 75 had cataract surgery and then underwent a series of mental tasks that were both simple and complex. Aftert the surgery their reaction times were dramatically  faster, regardless of their vision!

The more we study cataract surgery the more benefits we discover!

Treating Astigmatism In Patients With Cataracts

Modern cataract surgery is not your grandfather's surgery! If you have asigmatism we can not only make you see better over-all, but we can also treat your astigmatism. Dr. Darrell White is an expert in using Intra-Ocular Lenses (IOL's) that correct astigmatism.

A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. The lens sits in back of your pupil. As we get older the lens becomes harder, making it harder to focus. This is why we need reading glasses in our 40's. As we get even older (and sometimes in younger people, too), part or all of the crystalline lens becomes cloudy, sometimes yello-brown, too. This makes our vision blurry even with glasses or contact lenses. When that happens the only treatment is to take the cataract out.

If you have astigmatism you can choose to NOT HAVE TO WEAR GLASSES for most (maybe all!) of your far-away vision. You can choose to have Dr. White put in a Toric IOL, an implanted lens to give you clear vision AND correct your astigmatism. Imagine...after a life of glasses and contact lense for astigmatism...after cataract surgery you could choose not to have to wear glasses for lots of your far-away vision!

If you live in the Cleveland area Dr. Darrell White and Skyvision Centers in Westlake are the people and the place for expert treatment of astigmatism when you have cataract surgery!

Types of Cataracts

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil.

Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and is the principal cause of blindness in the world. In fact, there are more cases of cataracts worldwide than there are of glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy combined, according to Prevent Blindness America (PBA).

Today, cataracts affect more than 22 million Americans age 40 and older. And as the U.S. population ages, more than 30 million Americans are expected to have cataracts by the year 2020, PBA says.


Types of cataracts include:

A subcapsular cataract occurs at the back of the lens. People with diabetes or those taking high doses of steroid medications have a greater risk of developing a subcapsular cataract.

A nuclear cataract forms deep in the central zone (nucleus) of the lens. Nuclear cataracts usually are associated with aging.

A cortical cataract is characterized by white, wedge-like opacities that start in the periphery of the lens and work their way to the center in a spoke-like fashion. This type of cataract occurs in the lens cortex, which is the part of the lens that surrounds the central nucleus.

No one knows for sure why the eye's lens changes as we age, forming cataracts. But researchers worldwide have identified factors that may cause cataracts or are associated with cataract development. Besides advancing age, cataract risk factors include:

If you think you have a cataract, see an eye doctor for an exam to find out for sure.

By Gretchyn Bailey

Advanced Lens Implants Last Forever!

More and more of our SkyVision patients are choosing Advanced Lifestyle intraocular lens implants (IOL's) for their cataract surgeries. Not only are they getting better and better vision, but following their surgeries they can see almost everything they need to see WITHOUT ANY GLASSES!! We have also noticed a trend toward people opting to have their surgies at a younger age so that they can enjoy their improved, glasses-free vision for a longer time.

This of course has prompted people to start to ask how long will their implants last? It turns out that the new, advanced IOL's that help people to see better without glasses last just as long as the Basic High-Tech implants we have been using for decades. Dr. White is fond of saying that "[your] lens implants will outlive you by several thousand years!"

If you have a cataract and need to have surgery you don't have to worry about your IOL "wearing out". They pretty much last forever! The two questions you need to ask yourself remain the same as they've always been. When do I want to see better? Do I want to be freer from the need to wear glasses after my cataract surgery?

If the answers are "now" and "yes" you can rest assurred that your IOL's will likely last forever!

What Everyone Should Know About Cataract Surgery

Here are some thoughts on preparing for Cataract Surgery from Connie, our sugery counselor:

"Having worked with hundreds of patients now who I have counseled through their pre- operational instructions;  it is the darn eye drops that cause the most stress and inconvenience for people.  Imagine that!    

The most performed surgery in the U.S. and one that is so streamlined now that literally 24 hours later the patient is back to their regular routine . . . and if we receive complaints they typically are about the eye drops they have to take for up to 30 days after the surgery, not the procedure, not the doctor or surgery center, not how they are seeing but . . . the eye drops!

We educate our patients before meeting the doctors, during their examination and after the examination with the surgical counselor.  We send educational videos via email or send them home with written information.  Education is the key to a successful procedure so the patient feels comfortable, not only with the doctor but the procedure.

Feeling good when they leave the office, patients leave with 3 prescriptions for eye drops they will be taking throughout the pre and post operative period.  Then, they go to the pharmacy and the whole experience leaves our practice and the pharmacist gives them the news on how much the drops will cost them.  Out of the hands of the doctor!  But, after the prescriptions are filled and they go home, the regimen is started.  

Then the patient comes into the surgery center and the procedure lasts a few minutes and a couple of hours later the patient goes home and clearly sees better!  The post operative visits begin and drops are continued for up to 30 days after the procedure.

I am writing this for those who are nervous about cataract surgery. It truly is the eye drops that I get most of the questions about.  So, don't despair, if you are getting ready for cataract surgery, we will take good care of you, you just have to be prepared for the eye drops!"

August Is Cataract Awareness Month!

Did you know that August is Cataract Awareness Month?! Just what is a cataract anyway? A cataract is a clouding of the natural, crystalline lens inside the eye. The lens sits just in back of our pupil in front of the retina. It helps to focus light on the retina, and helps us to change our focus when we look at things up close.

Everyone who lives long enough will get a cataract! Some people get them much younger than other people, and the amount of trouble the cataract causes you and your vision is what determines when you need to have surgery. The only way to treat a cataract is to remove it surgically. As of this time in history there isn't any way to really prevent a cataract from ever growing in your eye. It seems as if the only way to slow cataract growth is to protect your eyes from UV light when you are young, and to not smoke.

Our cataract surgeon is Dr. Darrell White. Dr. White is one of the most experienced cataract surgeons in all or Northeast Ohio. Our Advanced Lifestyle Lens Implant program is the leader in the use of lens implants to reduce your need to wear glasses after having your cataracts out. In face, Dr. White was the first surgeon in Ohio to implant the Crystalens, the first of the new wave of implants designed to correct not only distance vision, but also reading vision, without wearing glasses!

Once your cataract is removed it will never come back! Cataracts are a very treatable cause of decreased vision as we get older. If you or a family member have been told that you have a cataract, it's a very treatable problem with very good results! Here in Northeast Ohio we are blessed to have many very fine cataract surgeons, including our own Dr. White!

Cataract Surgery and Falls

You will often hear a SkyVision Centers doctor talk about the benefits of having both eyes treated surgically to remove cataracts when they have each reached a point where removing them would be considered medically necessary. Many years ago a young researcher from Dr. White's training program, Jonathan Javitt, did landmark research that showed a clear safety benefit and improved health measures in older women who had their second eye surgery done compared with those who only had one cataract removed. It turns out that people really DO see better when both of their eyes have the best possible vision.

A new, equally important study has just been published in the Journal of the American Medical Society that shows a decrease in the frequency that older individuals have hip fractures if they have had cataract surgery. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it: our most important sensory cues about balance come from our eyes. If we do not see well we then become more sensitive to other problems with balance like poor circulation to the balance centers of the brain, or aging changes in the inner ear.

This large retrospective review evaluated the incidence of hip fractures within a year of cataract surgery in a random sample of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older diagnosed with a cataract from 2002 to 2009. Overall, those who had cataracts removed had 16 percent fewer hip fractures than those who declined surgery. Older patients (aged 80 to 84) and those with significant comorbidities (other diseases) experienced the most significant benefit, with 28 percent fewer hip fractures compared to equally sick patients who did not have surgery. And those who had severe cataracts removed had 23 percent fewer hip fractures than those with severe cataracts who declined surgery.

Choosing a Cataract Implant

You've just been told that you have a cataract and that changing your glasses will not make you see any better. The only way you can get better vision is by having cataract surgery. At this point there are two very important questions that you must answer. Number one: when do I wish to see better? As soon as the answer is NOW it's time schedule cataract surgery!

Now you have to answer question number two. Do I want to have to wear glasses? If I DO have to wear glasses after my cataract surgery, WHEN do I want to need to wear glasses? If you really think about it, this is actually pretty cool! You've probably worn glasses for something for many, many years. Either you need to wear glasses to read, or you need to wear glasses to see things far away, like for driving, or you need to wear glasses ALL THE TIME. Now you are about to have cataract surgery and guess what? You can choose NOT to have to wear glasses! How cool is that?!

At Skyvision Centers you have three general choices. A modern, High–Tech BASIC implant will give you fantastic vision, typically much better than you saw prior to your cataract surgery. With this Basic implant you'll need to wear glasses for most, if not all of your vision needs. Our Advanced Distance Vision LIFESTYLE lens implant typically gives you fantastic vision for faraway like driving or watching television. The Advanced Far–Away and Up–Close LIFESTYLE lens implant can make it possible for you to see EVERYTHING without wearing glasses!

So, having a cataract and needing cataract surgery can actually be something very exciting. Especially if you live in Cleveland and you are a Skyvision Centers Patient!

100% Satisfied

How about that?! 100% of our new patients at SkyVision in the month of May were satisfied with their SkyVision experience. In fact, 99.5% were either very satisfied or EXTREMELY satisfied!

We survey all of our new patients every day to see how their SkyVision Centers experience went. It's very important to us that we not only provide the very best eye care possible, but we also want our patients to have a wonderful experience in the process. We ask each new patient if they would refer friends and family to see us for all of their eyecare needs. In May 90% of our new patients said that they would look for opprotunities to bring up their SkyVision experience so that they could send friends and family to see us!

From the very outset Dr. Darrell White, Dr. Scott Schlegel, and Dr. Gregory Kaye have been striving to create a real, true patient-centered experience. Most medical practices of all kinds are actually built around the needs of the doctors. At SkyVision Centers we think that might be backwards--everything should be centered on our patients. Each of us spends time every day monitoring your experience, from waiting time to inusurance processing, to making sure that you are getting exactly the right care for your particular needs.

So thank you for all of your kind words and your wonderful reviews. We DO want to hear from you directly, not only to tell us how nice your experience was, but definitely also when you think there might be something that we can do better! Here's hoping June is just as successful!

We are OK With Our Patients Talking Behind Our Backs!

We have been told growing up that it is not nice to talk behind someone's back.   Well, here at SkyVision,  it would not have grown so well if people had not done just that!

So, we are thankful that we have been able to give great eye care to individuals and families and that people are talking about it. 

A big thank you to those of you have done the talking!

Cataract Surgery - We Love To Hear From Our Patients!

"Dear Dr. White,

Am I Happy with my new Crystalens? They’ve changed my life. I feel like I have new eyes. I didn’t think that was possible.

My Mother lost vision in one eye due to glaucoma along with a cataract. I was hesitant to have ANY eye surgery done. My cataracts were beginning to obstruct my nighttime driving so I knew that it was time for some type of eye correction.

Never did I realize that I would get my vision back. Every morning I get out of bed with good vision. No fumbling for glasses. No daily routine of inserting one contact lens for near vision and one for far vision.

I can drive at night, see movies in the theater, read a newspaper, read books, and work on my computer, all without difficulty. It’s like a miracle happened or else new eyes transplanted.

Thank you to the research department that developed the Crystalens.

Sincerely,

Kathy Gregory R.N.,R.D.H., B.S.,M.S.&E.D.

Registered Nurse, Registered Dental Hygienist, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Education"

Thank you Kathy for sharing your experience with us!

The doctors and staff from Skyvision

Cataract Safety Improved Over 10 Years Studied

Cataract surgery performed in the United States is one of the safest, most effective surgeries there could be, and it has been like this for a very long time. A recent study looked at the safety of cataract surgery and compared surgeries performed in 1994-1995 with those done in 2005-2006 and here are the highlights!

Really bad complications like infection and bleeding following cataract surgery were very rare in 1994-95, but they were 21% more common back then in comparison with 2005-06. One of the most significant risk factor for complications in 1994-95 was a history of severe diabetic retinopathy, but even with this risk the frequency of complications was dramatically lower in 2005-06.

As cataract surgery has evolved in the U.S. other studies have also shown a decreased risk of complications. For example, serious infections have been rare since at least the 1980's, but the risk of having a serious eye infection following cataract surgery is now about 10 times LESS in 2011 than it was in 1990!

Cataract surgery is one of the biggest success stories in all of medicine and Dr. White is one of the best cataract surgeons in the country! We can improve your vision using one of the safest and most effective surgical procedures known to man. If you have been told that you, or a family member, has a cataract give us a call at Skyvision Centers!


(Note: cataract surgery, like all surgical procedures, does have the possibility of complications which may affect the outcome of the surgery. Bleeding and infection are only two of the complications possible. For more information about this ask your surgeon.)