Cataract

Disease description

Cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens that can eventually lead to partial or complete vision loss. The disease is common in people over 40 years old, although a congenital form also exists.

With moderate disease progression and no treatment, the time from the initial symptoms to total vision loss is usually no more than 10 years.

Symptoms indicating the need for diagnosis and treatment

There are four stages of cataract development:

• Initial stage: symptoms may be absent for a long time. Patients may experience blurred vision, double vision, and difficulty reading and writing.
• Immature cataract: reduced color perception clarity, the appearance of a veil over the eyes, and increased sensitivity to light sources.
• Mature cataract: critically reduced vision (only light perception without object outlines), sharp eye pain.
• Overripe cataract: complete blindness. The lens turns a white-yellow color.

Diagnostic and treatment methods

Diagnostic

In suspected cataract cases, ophthalmologists in leading medical centers worldwide recommend the following tests:

• Visometry (to assess visual acuity)
• Ophthalmoscopy (to examine the fundus of the eye)
• Perimetry (to evaluate visual field size)
• Biomicroscopy (to examine the eye with a slit lamp)
• Color vision testing (to analyze color perception)

For a more precise diagnosis, refractometry, ophthalmometry, and ultrasound may also be conducted.

Treatment

In early-stage cataracts, conservative therapy is used to slow down lens clouding through medication. Additionally, modern proteolytic enzymes may be prescribed to restore lens transparency.

The “gold standard” for surgical treatment is ultrasound phacoemulsification, which replaces the natural lens with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). This procedure is minimally invasive and ensures rapid vision recovery after surgery.

Innovations in global clinics

Top European ophthalmology centers use modern artificial lenses with X-WAVE technology, which provides an extended range of vision. Unlike traditional monofocal lenses, these advanced implants eliminate post-surgical optical distortions (which often occur with standard IOLs).