Get cataract surgery done right

GEORGE TOWN: Getting your cataract surgery redone is not encouraged and patients should have the surgery done properly the first time around.

This is especially so when it comes to choosing the type of Intraocular Cataract Lenses (IOLs) that is most suitable for you according to your needs and lifestyle.

Vista Eye Specialist senior consultant ophthalmologist, cataract and refractive surgeon Dr Ng Gim Leong urged patients to put great thought into this matter.

“Talk to your eye specialist about the different types of IOLs that is available and make sure that you are comfortable with it.

“There are many who opt for the monofocal IOL which provides focus at only one distance. Then, few years later they decide to go for the multifocal IOL which provides vision across varying distances.

“The reason for this decision is that monofocal IOL is cheaper but to undergo cataract surgery twice is risky,” he said, adding that a second cataract surgery can result in complications.

He urged patients of cataract surgery to consider trifocal IOL which is designed for those who do work on computers and other tasks that take place at the intermediate range.

Dr Ng was one of the three speakers at the StarLIVE talk on Robotics Technology: The Latest Approach to Cataract Surgery at Wawasan Open University’s Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik Auditorium on Sunday.

The other speakers were his colleagues – consultant ophthalmologist, cataract and refractive surgeon Dr Anson Teh Yeong Han and consultant ophthalmologist, cataract and refractive surgeon Dr Neoh Yee Ling.

Dr Ng’s topic was on Glasses Free Vision with Trifocal Lens, Dr Teh covered Robotic No-Blade Cata­ract Surgery while Dr Neoh spoke on the Top Seven Dangerous Myths about Cataract Surgery.

Dr Teh addressed about traditional cataract surgery as compared to laser-assisted cataract surgery and encouraged patients to go for the latter.

In the traditional cataract surgery, Dr Teh said the surgeon was unable to see the internal structure of the eye prior to the surgery and no cataract pre-fragmentation was performed.

He said laser-assisted cataract surgery provided more precision but it would cost more and it was up to the patient to decide.

Among some of the myths of cataract surgery, Dr Neoh hoped that people would not assume that cataract surgery could only be performed when the cataract was ripe or mature.

“Yes, this is true in the olden days but now there is a grading system for cataract.

“You can fix the problem while it’s in the initial stage,” she said.

She shared that cataract surgery is not dangerous and painful due to advance in technology.

Also present was Vista Eye Specialist chief consultant ophthalmologist, cataract and refractive surgeon Dr Aloysius Joseph Low.

A total of 200 people attended the event which included free cataract screening and a goodie bag each for all the participants.