Dr. Jessica Misiorowski discusses cataracts in depth and takes your questions.
Automatically generated transcription below:
Good afternoon. Alright. Well, I’m going to get started. Good afternoon. My name is Doctor Jess Misiorowski. I am a recent grad from the University of Missouri, Saint Louis. I recently moved down to South Florida in order to be closer to my family and I am so excited to be serving the Miami community. Alright, so have you ever noticed that your vision is not quite as good as it used to be? Do you have a more difficult time driving at night? Do you need more light in order to read a newspaper or your favorite book. If so, then make sure you listen because today, I’m going to be talking about Cataracts. So, to start, what exactly are Cataracts? Cataracts are clouding of the natural lens within the eye. So, early in life, this lens is clear but as time goes on, it slowly gets more and more cloudy. Similar to a frosted window or if you think about it, the headlights on a car. So, when we first get a these headlights are super clear and clean and the light coming out of it out of those headlights are crystal and crisp but as time goes on, what ends up happening is there’s a film that develops over these over these headlights. So, the light that comes out isn’t as crisp as it used to be. Same concept but now, you’ve got the light coming into our eyes. It’s no longer as crisp and crystal as it used to be when we were younger. Now, it’s kind of gotta go through that film. So, it little bit not crystal clear as it used to be. So, what are some common symptoms of cataracts that we should be looking for? Well, that’s decreased vision. So, blurred vision no matter what type of glasses that you put on, glare, especially when you’re looking at bright lights, glare that is impairing your vision while driving and also colors just don’t appear as saturated as they once were. And then Now, what causes cataracts? Well, there are many type of factors that contribute to cataracts but the most important one is age. So, if we’re all lucky enough to gather a bunch of candles on our birthday cakes, we’re going to develop Cataracts. You’re going to develop them. My niece is going to develop them. My parents are. I am every single person will eventually develop cataracts. So, some other factors that speed the process of cataract development include UV exposure, diet, genetics, and medications. So, now that we know what cataracts are, what causes them, and how it affects us, what can we do to treat them? The answer is surgery. So, I know a lot of people are scared and worried by just the sound of hearing surgery but it’s one of the most common, safest procedures done in the United States. It’s a quick outpatient procedure that about 10 to 15 minutes and that depends on the eye, the patient, and the surgeon and then after that, you can expect a same day or one-day post op, one-week post op, and one month where the vision should be at that point stable. The doctor will also prescribe some drops for you to use and some proper instructions. At these office visits, these post ops, the doctor will monitor the healing process of the eye. At the one month office visit, you should be expecting to schedule the next surgery for the other eye So, what are your options in the surgery? So, there’s different types of options and different types of options for the lenses. So, we have three lenses that I’m going to be talking about. The first lens is going to be your standard monofocal lens. So, what does that mean? That means you’re going to have a lens that focuses one distance. So, it could either be far away or it could be up close. So, a lot of patients are like have two lenses in each eye for distance so then they need just like they’re used to reading glasses for up close or they want to veneer and then they’re going to need glasses for far away or some patients like to do monovision where it’s one for distance, one for near. You don’t need the glasses most of the time. Um sometimes for that itty bitty fine print up close, you may need a pair of reading glasses or for a computer distance, you might need a pair of glasses. Then we have the mono or multifocal lenses. With these lenses, you’ve got concentric rings and it’s far middle, near, far, middle, near and so, the far ring is going to focus images from far away onto your eye. The middle is going to be for an intermediate distance and then the near is going to be for near. Um so, the benefit of this is you don’t need glasses. Maybe if you’re really, really waiting for a really long extended period of time or if you’re on the computer for a really long time, you might want to put some glasses on just to find some some relief and so you don’t find yourself fatigued. However, it’s a great benefit. Cosmetically, you don’t really need, you know, to be carrying around or looking for those glasses anymore. and then, the last lens I’ll be talking about is the extended depth of focus, kind of, you know, speaks for itself. So, what it does is it extends that focus. So, if you have a distance one in one of your eyes lens. It extends that light so you’re able to kind of use it to be able to see intermediate distances and if you have one for up close, then, you’re able to kind of extend it to new media. The only thing is, you can’t have that lens, that light won’t be extended through all three vision from far, middle, and near and you can only choose two. So, those are your three options. The standard one is typically covered by insurance the other two, the little fancier ones are going to be out of pocket. Um other than that, like I said, the surgery is the surgery is very common. So, I was going to see if anyone had any questions at the moment. Let me see. Any questions? not seen any at this time. refreshing Alright. So, waiting on these questions. If anyone has any, I’m more than happy to to answer them. So Just a Just a few more minutes. I’ll wait for these questions I guess I’ll answer a few of my own. So, I’ve had a lot of patients ask me will I need glasses after the surgery? That all just depends on what type of ones you’re getting in your eye. If you’re getting a, hi, if you are getting a, you’re welcome. You’re welcome for this information. Um if you’re getting a lens that is standard and you get the two distance lenses, then, yes, you’re going to need glasses for up close. Um same if with the multifocals. Like I said earlier, you may need them if you’re working on something for a really long time because you really don’t want to fatigue yourself or if you do start feeling fatigue, you can throw on a pair of glasses. You do need sunglasses still no matter what. You’re going to need sunglasses. So, you still have that accessory that you’re able to kind of be fashionable with and get to make some choices after cataract surgery. Um other than that, just here and there. You will need some glasses. So, don’t throw them all away. Um also, another question, some people ask me is, why do, why do you only do one at a time? Well, you do one eye at a time because this eye or whatever eye that you elect to do first, that eye is going to be going through a healing process. So, you don’t want both eyes going through that and kind of not being able to do sort of your a a daily needs. You want to have at least vision in one eye so you’re able to get around whether It’s walking around, driving around, getting groceries, playing golf, just those simple things. You’re going to want, you’re going to want to do one at a time. Another reason that people, the surgeon, Alexa do one at a time typically is is because they thank you math, they want you to be able to see what to expect at the other end. Some people, you know, get a certain lens in one eye and they decide to, you know, switch it and they want a fancier just some more simple aligns in the other eye Um so that’s why they do one eye at a time. Um are you able to exchange the lenses, you can, you don’t really want to but within that first typically within the first few months, before there’s like a little bag that kind of holds the lens in place before that kind of suctions to the lens, you are able to exchange. So, if you know, you get a lens like the multifocal and you just not happy with it or if you get a standard lens and you really want a different one, you are able to talk to your surgeon obviously depends on eyes. Every eye is different and yeah, you guys can come to a compromise. Any any questions at all so far? just wait a few more minutes to see if any questions come in and if, you know, if you guys don’t have any questions right now, always feel free to leave a comment and I will come back in and I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions at a later date. Doesn’t matter when you post them. It could be today. It could be, you know, few months from now, I’ll make sure and I’ll do my best to try to get back to them and answer your your questions. Alright. So, in this in this Facebook Live I covered the symptoms that may be affecting you if you have cataracts. How the cataracts are formed and what procedures are out there to take care of all your cataract needs and to take care of you. Um at this time, our time is coming to an end and you know, unfortunately because I had so much fun speaking with you guys and educating you and you know, giving you that information that you just might not always, you know, think about asking your doctor in that moment. Um like I said, here to answer all of your questions and if you’re experiencing any symptoms of cataracts or you would just like a comprehensive eye exam or you just want any type of eye exam, we’re here to take care of you. So, you’re always welcome in our offices and you can schedule your appointment by simply calling eight five five seven three four two zero two zero. Alright, looking forward to seeing you guys out.
