Cataract Ultrasound Treatment

A cataract is the clouding of the lens you eyes. Approximately half of all Americans experience cataracts by the age of 80, the National Eye Institute reports. Cataracts require removal to prevent loss of vision, and the most commonly used method is ultrasound treatment, the Eye Surgery Education Council explains.

Alternate Names

• Doctors and patients sometimes refer to cataract ultrasound treatment as phacoemulsification, phaco or simply cataract surgery.

Function

• During cataract ultrasound treatment, doctors make a small incision inside your eye to insert a probe that uses concentrated sound waves to break up the lens of your eye. Doctors then insert an artificial lens and close the incision.

Features

• In most cases, doctors perform cataract ultrasound treatment while you are awake, using a medication to numb your eye. Cataract ultrasound treatment typically occurs in an ophthalmologist's office rather than at a hospital.

Time Frame

• Cataract ultrasound treatment usually lasts less than one hour, and most patients return home the same day they undergo the procedure, the National Eye Institute explains. Many patients experience itching and discomfort for the first two days after treatment. Your eye typically heals within eight weeks.

Risks

• Infrequently, patients develop inflammation, bleeding, loss of vision, double vision or changes in eye pressure after cataract ultrasound treatment. There is also a risk that the artificial lens implanted during the procedure will become cloudy in the future and require treatment.