A cataract may affect just a small part of the lens, or it may cloud the entire lens. If your sight isnt badly impaired, the lens doesnt have to be removed. But if the central part of the lens is cloudy, you may not be able to see unless the lens is taken out.
Canadian Ophthalmological Society
One day in my early teens, my father and I leaned against the parapet of London Bridge, watching the ships on the River Thames.
Always fascinated by freighters, I asked Dad about one ship that was anchored closer to the Tower of London. When he was unsure which vessel I meant, I gave him the name.
You can read it this far away? he asked.
Dad was floored by my answer because opticians had always told my parents I was near-sighted. New glasses followed and a magically clearer world.
Today, I am again marvelling at the miracle of sight because the results of surgery to remove cataracts are extraordinary.
I am 36 hours into an experience shared annually by 1.5 million North Americans.
It was into Lions Gate Hospital at 7:15 a.m., a 20-minute surgery and home in time for breakfast.
The worst thing about having the first of two cataract surgeries was fear of the unknown.
Would it be painful? What if this, or that, happened?
Mostly, I worried my instant reflexes could jolt the surgeons instrument out of whack and the surgery would fail. Visions of the black-patched pirates of childhood stories were the stuff of my dreams for weeks.
Although Ive never seen a pirate in Canada, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind says more than 2.5 million Canadians have cataracts.
According to the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, of the many types of cataracts, most are caused by changes in the chemical make-up of the lens. Aging, certain medications (steroids, for example, genetics, eye injuries, or certain diseases can cause cataracts. Of those, age-related cataracts are the most common and may occur as early as age 40.
Whether it was age-related or failure to use sunglasses, the first indication I was developing cataracts came when I visited an optometrist for a new pair of glasses. He wrote up the new prescription but recommended I make an appointment with a certain doctor about the cataracts.
Instead, because I already knew a specialist at Vancouvers Willow Eye Centre, I decided to check there first.
After that examination, the doctor asked, If you hadnt been told you had cataracts, would you be here today? Were you having problems reading or driving?
No to everything, I replied. I only wanted new glasses.
Then have an annual check-up and well see how the cataracts progress, he decided. Lesson learned: Get a second opinion from someone you trust.
Not knowing how long the waiting would last, I researched the condition and North Shore specialists who perform cataract surgeries regularly and with good results.
When I told friends what I was doing, they gave me the name of Dr. Aron Goldberg whom theyd known and respected for years.
That decision made, I continued life as usual, except that about two years ago, I stopped driving after dark. My eyes were taking too long to adjust between headlights and dark roadways, and the last headline I wanted to see in the North Shore News with my name attached was Elderly Driver Causes Fatal Accident.
Fast forward to May 16; and newly eligible under an extended health plan for the recommended lens, the wait was over.
On time at LGH, I was greeted by a nurse who checked that Id used the eye-drops as prescribed. She then added more drops to numb the eye and gave me a tiny pill to put under the tongue, to relax you.
From that calm and quiet room, I was taken into the surgical area where everything was brightly lit and busier.
Up on the gurney; hands and arms gently wrapped under a sheet to keep me from delivering the surgeon a black eye of his own? The surgery began.
With no hint of discomfort, I listened to the murmur of masked voices and watched, fascinated, as NASAs Perpetual Ocean of colours swirled inside the eye.
I was surprised that the eye being worked on could still see. Surprised when I should have known that it is the optic nerve that sees and relays the message to the brain, and that the only job of the lens is to bring everything into focus.
Over in 20 minutes, I heard more than a few chuckles when I said, Done? Good grief! as I climbed down off the gurney.
Hard to believe: although my vision was cloudy, I saw well enough to walk away when the procedure was over. The cloudiness will likely be gone before this story is submitted and the healing complete in about six weeks. After that, its on to the second eye and better vision than Ive had for most of my life.
No wonder Dr. Goldberg is held in such high regard, as are many others like him. If he and other surgeons each perform 15-45 of these surgeries every week and they do imagine the numbers for a rapidly-aging population.
Until now, the B.C. Medical Services Plan has only covered the cost of old-type hard lenses that required a more invasive surgery. But from June 4, 2012, MSP will be covering the soft, foldable lens that can be inserted through a tiny incision which is far less prone to post-surgical discomfort or infection.
As this story closes, I have walked Loutet Trail and have seen the lilac bush covered in blooms at one end, all the way from the other; and this morning, a thousand liquid jewels adorning the cedar hedge outside my window sunshine after rain.
