Cataract surgery: What to prepare?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi Bich Nhi - Ophthalmologist - General Surgery Department - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.

1. What is cataract surgery?

The lens is a transparent lens, located inside the eye, that helps focus light on the retina and helps filter ultraviolet rays in sunlight. The vitreous in a healthy person with no known eye problems is clear, curvilinear, and within physiological limits.
When insoluble protein molecules accumulate in the lens, with age, the lens becomes cloudy, light rays when passing through the cloudy area will be scattered strongly, causing vision loss. . Cataracts are severe when it reduces the patient's vision to less than 3/10.
By far, the most effective treatment for cataracts is still surgery. Currently, Phaco surgery technique (short for Phacoemulsification) is being widely used to treat cataracts. When performing, the doctor will use energy from the Phaco tube to grind the cloudy lens into small pieces, suck it out through a small incision, and then place an artificial lens in the eye.
Phaco cataract surgery has advantages such as fast execution time, small incisions, no pain, no bleeding, quick recovery of vision, low complication rate and can be adjusted for surgical procedures. refractive error.

2. What to prepare for cataract surgery?

Indications for cataract surgery will depend on the degree of vision impairment of the patient. If visual acuity is less than 4/10, surgery will be considered. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to other factors such as age, nature of work, living conditions, ... of the patient to have appropriate indications.
To avoid losing travel time and avoiding post-operative effects, patients need to prepare well before the procedure. Some important notes include:
2.1 Checking and performing necessary tests After being diagnosed with cataracts and having surgery, the patient needs to be examined and carried out the necessary tests. . Specifically:
Blood test: Need to fast in the morning before taking blood; General internal examination, including electrocardiogram. Depending on the patient's general medical condition, the doctor may order additional tests and imaging tests; Ultrasonography of the eye, measuring the power of the cornea to calculate the power of the artificial lens. If the tests show normal results, the doctor will advise the patient to use the right type of artificial lens and schedule an appointment for Phaco surgery. In case the patient has high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc., the doctor will give stable treatment of the above diseases before performing cataract surgery.

2.2 Preparation before entering the operating room Bring all necessary medical records and personal papers; Patients should keep their personal hygiene clean: Shower, wash hair, cut hair; Carefully read the surgical commitment, ask and answer questions before signing the commitment to surgery; Address personal needs and clean the face according to instructions; The doctor reviews the patient's medical record, measures the pulse, blood pressure, lacrimal irrigation, tests to see if there is a drug allergy, checks the general condition to make sure the patient is healthy enough for life. surgery. 2.3 Notes during and after surgery The patient is dressed in sterile clothes, marked eyes; Take medicine, disinfect the skin around the eye that will be operated on. After disinfecting the skin, the patient must not touch the disinfected skin area; When instilling the medicine, the patient needs to relax, can close or open the other eye; Patients should follow the doctor's orders during surgery. Specifically, patients need to relax and relax, avoid eye movements and strong body movements during the procedure; After the surgery is over, the eye will be covered with antibiotic ointment, the eye will be bandaged and the patient will be discharged from the hospital immediately; The first day after surgery, the patient should eat soft food, avoid stimulants, take medicine exactly as prescribed by the doctor and should go to bed early;

Follow up with your doctor's appointment as scheduled. If there are signs such as swollen eyelids, eyes that are hard and bright, bleeding on the whites, the blacks have cloudy edema, eye pain, blurred vision, red eyes, see flashes of light, watery eyes a lot and constantly, ... need to quickly go to the hospital to be checked and treated. If there are no other eye diseases, after cataract surgery, about 95% of patients will have vision above 5/10. In addition to the ability to improve vision, this surgical method also helps to improve the patient's ability to perceive colors, work, move, drive, read and see near, ... for patients.
Vinmec International General Hospital with a system of modern facilities, medical equipment and a team of experts and doctors with many years of experience in medical examination and treatment, patients can rest assured to visit. examination and treatment at the Hospital.

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