What are cataracts?
Starting with what cataract is, its causes, treatment, and treatment with trifocal lenses (three-focal intraocular lenses) in patients with cataracts, in other words, smart lenses, would be healthier for a clearer understanding and integrity of the subject. Cataract is the loss of transparency of the lens in the eye. This lens is located on the outer part of the eye, like a watch glass, underneath the transparent cornea behind the layer called the iris, forming the pupil and giving the eye its color. Cataract formation can also occur at an earlier age due to glaucoma, diabetes, usage of cortisone medication, trauma, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays (sunlight), and a family history of cataracts at an early age. It may develop in older generations due to aging. The most common reason for cataracts is aging. As the lens loses its transparency, the images coming into the eye cannot be clearly transferred to the area we call the yellow spot in the retina layer of the eye. The patient develops a cloudy vision. Symptoms of cataracts are a gradual decrease in vision, sensitivity to light, double vision (diplopia) in one eye, difficulty in reading, deterioration in night vision, fading or yellowing of colors, frequent change of spectacle numbers, distant vision deteriorating, and near vision becoming better.
How to Treat It?
There is no other treatment method for cataracts other than surgery. Nowadays, cataracts are treated with surgery by using the phaco method. Before the operation, the pupil is dilated with various eye drops. The eye is anesthetized with a drop known as topical anesthesia. Anesthesia (numbing) is not performed with a needle. General anesthesia (state of controlled unconsciousness) or hospitalization is not needed. After entering the eye through an incision of approximately 2-2.5 mm from the cornea layer, the cataractous lens material gets broken, melted, and vacuumed by the phaco device. Afterward, an artificial lens is inserted into the lens capsule socket inside the eye. No stitches are needed. The operation takes approximately 5-6 minutes, and the patient experiences no pain or discomfort throughout the procedure.
Are Smart Contact Lenses(Trifocal lenses) Good In Cataract Surgery
Trifocal lenses are the best solution for people who wish to have their cataracts removed and not wear glasses after surgery. Smart lenses can enable a patient with cataracts to see without glasses for the rest of their life after surgery, no matter what size glasses they previously wore. They are high-tech lenses that will meet all the visual requirements of the person during the day. Therefore, patients can achieve clear vision near, between, and far distances without glasses. People used to retire in their mid-40s. However, nowadays, people work intensively until their 60s or even 70s. These people need to remove their cataracts and wear glasses only with monofocal lens application for activities requiring near vision, such as looking at mobile phones, reading books, or handicrafts. They will also be unable to see intermediate distances clearly with their reading glasses, such as the desktop computer screen, odometers while driving, or access to the kitchen counter. Therefore, their quality of life will decrease considerably. However, smart lenses can automatically focus on near, intermediate, and far distances as if our natural lens has not lost its elasticity. In addition, all problems such as hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism that existed in the person before the cataract will be treated with a single, smart lens and a single surgery. Problems such as reading glasses hanging around the neck, looking for lost glasses, putting them on and taking them off, and struggling to adjust the range of clear vision will no longer be a problem. Our patients will continue their lives as young individuals who no longer need glasses. Smart lenses, the latest technology product, provide an effective solution to the problem of near, intermediate, and far-distance vision in treating cataract patients, thus improving their quality of life. Thanks to smart lenses, the eyes of our cataract patients with cataract go back to their youthful years after the surgery.
What are the Pros of Smart Lenses?
Ophthalmologists refer to them as trifocal (three-focal) intraocular lenses, but they are popularly referred to as smart lenses or smart contact lenses. So, are these lenses really smart? What are their benefits? Who can benefit from them? Who cannot be applied? In this piece, We have written about the trifocal lens application for people who start to need reading glasses after the age of 40. Each person has a natural lens within the eye. This lens is both transparent and elastic. Whenever we look near and far, this lens changes its shape owing to its elasticity and focuses on the distance we look. It allows us to see both far and near clearly. The natural lens of our eye does this focusing on milliseconds without thinking. With age, the lens inside the eye loses its elasticity; first, it can no longer change its shape while looking up close and can no longer focus on the near. The patient begins to see near vision blurry. As the years go by, the number of prescription glasses for close vision keeps increasing. People who have never worn glasses until age 45 may be depressed if they need reading glasses. You probably know this yourself. Just imagine you are in a restaurant with your buddies. The menu is in your hand, but you can’t read them. You might have to tell the waiter you want the same thing your friend ordered. Unless you have forgotten them somewhere and you have them with you at that very moment, you take your glasses out of your coat’s pocket. In the meantime, the eyes will probably be focused on you. Being in this situation will not make you feel great. Or maybe you are in the office and need to check your messages on your cell phone while checking your mail on the desktop computer monitor. You are watching the news on the TV screen 2-3 meters away. Look for reading glasses, find them, put them on, take them off, adjust the distance, and try to focus. Lowering the glasses down on the tip of your nose while simultaneously trying to see the mobile phone up close and watching TV through the glasses… Your job is challenging. Whether young or old, nowadays, everyone uses a smart smartphone, so you need to be able to see clearly up close. People used to retire in their mid-40s. However, nowadays, people work intensively until their 60s or even 70s. The problem of nearsightedness lowers the quality of life of these people significantly. Of course, we are talking about people who are unhappy with wearing glasses. We have nothing against those who use glasses as accessories and enjoy them. But it is a fact that a significant number of patients do not enjoy wearing glasses. Today’s people do not just wish to retreat to the corner as they used to do in the past; they do not want to look old, act old, or live old. Anti-aging has entered our lives. Yes, trifocal lenses are the wisest solution for these people.
What is Smart Lens Surgery, and What are the Results?
The surgery can be performed on both eyes a few days apart. It is a painless procedure lasting about 5-6 minutes, and the operation is highly safe and is performed with the latest technology. Sit tight; once the smart lens is implanted, you never need glasses again for the rest of your life. Number progression never occurs. The lens does not require any maintenance. There is no need for periodic replacement. It can remain in the eye for a lifetime. There is no problem, such as falling, dislodging, or sliding the lens. Sea, pool, and all kinds of sports activities are allowed. It fulfills all the visual needs of a person throughout the day. It is exactly like our natural lens before losing its elasticity. You can automatically focus and see clearly at any distance you look.
Can We Have Smart Lenses Implanted to Obtain a Glasses-Free Life Despite Wearing High Prescription Glasses?
There is more. It does not matter whether the person wearing near or far-distance glasses is hyperopic or myopic or has astigmatism. We can correct all these conditions with a single surgery and a single, smart lens. In other words, smart lenses have replaced refractive laser treatment after 45. In conclusion, smart lenses provide a great solution to the problem of near and intermediate-distance vision and improve the quality of life. We can say that today this application is not luxuries but a necessity of the age. After the smart lens procedure, patients are free from their near and far glasses, and thus, their life quality improves. The glow in their eyes gives us joy.
