[Main Medical Services]
1. Precise Fundus Examination
2. Ultrasonic Cataract Surgery
3. Performance of Intraocular Lens Implantation

[What is Cataract?]
Inside the human eye, there is a tissue called the lens, which corresponds to the lens of a camera.
Just as pictures are blurry when there is an abnormality in the camera lens, when the human lens loses its transparency and cataract occurs, objects appear cloudy. This cataract can occur along with systemic diseases such as diabetes, eye trauma, or strong ultraviolet rays, but senile cataract that occurs with age is the most common case. Although some older people with cataracts live normally even with some vision loss, according to foreign papers, low vision caused by cataracts reduces the activity of the elderly and is reported to be an important cause of senile dementia.

[Symptoms of Cataract]
The initial symptoms of cataracts are often difficult to distinguish from those caused by other eye diseases, so an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment are necessary.
Generally, cataracts progress slowly over several years, so vision impairment initially feels like fog, but can lead to blindness in the final stages.
Symptoms :
1) Reduced Vision: Vision appears foggy or is poor even after frequently changing glasses.
2) Double Vision (Diplopia): Objects appear doubled when viewed with one eye.
3) Day Blindness (Nyctalopia): Vision is worse when going to bright places.
4) Photophobia: Tearing.

[Cataract Treatment]
In the early stages, medical treatment is performed (the purpose is to slow the progression of the cataract; cataracts that have already progressed do not improve with medication and will continue to progress over time).
The ultimate treatment for cataracts is surgery to remove the cloudy lens and insert a clear artificial lens to restore vision.

[Latest Surgical Method at Our Hospital]
After topical anesthesia with eye drops, surgery is performed using state-of-the-art ultrasound through a micro-incision of about 3mm, resulting in almost no pain and no sutures, thus minimizing astigmatism postoperatively. Therefore, the recovery period is short, and vision is usually restored within a few days.

[What is Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO)?]
During cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed, and the posterior capsule, the sheath of the lens, is left behind for artificial lens insertion. Although this posterior capsule is initially clear like glass, it gradually becomes opaque over time, which can lead to a slight decrease in vision. Patients who enjoyed good vision immediately after cataract surgery might complain of cloudy vision again; this phenomenon is called posterior capsule opacification.

[Treatment for Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO)]
This occurs in about 30% of all cataract surgery patients. PCO can be treated using a YAG laser to treat the opaque posterior capsule area, restoring vision back to the original clarity. Recurrence after treatment is rare. YAG laser surgery is performed simply in the outpatient clinic and does not affect daily life.

※ Our hospital uses an OPHTHALMIC ND-YAG LASER for PCO treatment.