Cataract Questions, Answered

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, usually caused by normal age-related changes to the lens proteins. Light can no longer pass through cleanly, so vision gradually becomes blurred, dim, or glary. Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in adults over 60 — and they are highly treatable.

Common early signs include increasingly blurred or cloudy vision, glare and halos around lights at night, colors looking faded or yellowed, needing more light to read, and frequent prescription changes that no longer help. Symptoms develop slowly, which is why many people don’t notice how much vision they’ve lost. Our 60-second cataract self-test is a good first check.

When cataracts begin interfering with the things you want to do — driving at night, reading, recognizing faces, working. There is rarely a medical urgency, but there is also no benefit to waiting until a cataract is “ripe.” Modern surgery is safest and easiest when the cataract is moderate rather than advanced.

Cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed and most successful surgical procedures in medicine. It is typically an outpatient procedure taking minutes per eye, performed under light sedation with numbing drops. As with any surgery there are risks, which your surgeon will review with you personally.

Both remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial lens implant. Laser-assisted surgery uses a femtosecond laser, guided by a 3D map of your eye, to perform key steps — incisions, capsulotomy, lens softening — with computer-guided precision, and can correct astigmatism during the procedure.

A standard monofocal lens gives excellent vision at one distance, with glasses for the rest. Premium lenses can restore a fuller range: trifocal lenses, extended depth-of-focus and full-visual-range lenses, and the Light Adjustable Lens, which is fine-tuned after surgery. Toric versions correct astigmatism.

Yes — standard cataract surgery with a standard lens is covered by Medicare and most medical insurance when the cataract is medically significant. Laser assistance and premium lenses are elective upgrades paid out of pocket, with financing available. Full breakdown: cataract surgery cost.

Most patients notice clearer vision within a day or two and return to normal activities quickly, using prescription eye drops for a few weeks. Your surgeon will give you specific guidance on driving, lifting, and water exposure during healing.

Typically the eyes are treated on separate days, commonly one to two weeks apart, so the first eye can begin healing and confirm the outcome before the second is treated. Your surgeon will recommend the timing that fits your eyes.

A true cataract cannot return — the natural lens is gone. Some patients later develop clouding of the lens capsule behind the implant (posterior capsule opacification), which can blur vision similarly. It is treated in minutes with a painless YAG laser procedure in the office.

Often, yes. Because the procedure replaces your eye’s lens, the implant power can be chosen to correct nearsightedness or farsightedness, and toric or premium lenses can address astigmatism and reading vision — which is why many patients see better after cataract surgery than they have in decades.

Take the free 60-second cataract self-test online, then schedule a cataract evaluation at any of our five Los Angeles-area offices — Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Beverly Hills, Arcadia, or Valencia. Call 866-273-3327 or request an appointment online.