Cataract is a special type of pathology of the structure of the eye, in which there is a change in the refractive properties of the lens of the eye.
Risk factors for the progression of the disease are diabetes mellitus, muscular dystrophy, Down’s disease, skin diseases, eye injuries, heredity.
The main role in the development of cataracts is played by a decrease in antioxidant protection with age. In addition, the physicochemical properties of the protein fibers of the lens change in the elderly. Also, the development of cataracts contributes to the depletion of the body after severe infectious diseases, starvation, anemia, insolation.
Pronounced symptoms at an early stage of cataract may be diplopia, blurred vision, staining of visible objects in yellow, flashing of flies in front of the eyes. During the complication, there is an increased sensitivity of the eyes to light, deterioration of night vision, weakening of light perception.
At the initial stages, treatment is carried out with the help of conservative therapy using eye drops. But since such treatment is ineffective, they often resort to microsurgical operations. Such operations include removing the altered lens and replacing it with a special lens. Indications for surgical intervention are swelling cataract, overripe cataract, subluxation or dislocation of the lens, detection of secondary glaucoma. Removal of the clouded lens is carried out in the following ways: extracapsular and intracapsular cataract extraction, ultrasound and laser phacoemulsification. The first method is to remove the nucleus of the lens and the lens masses; but the posterior capsule of the lens remains in the eye, separating the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. In the second method, the lens is removed together with the capsule. The latest methods include the introduction of an ultrasonic tip into the anterior chamber of the eye, under the action of which the lens substance turns into an emulsion and is sucked out of the eye.