K22 -- May 2010 -- Intraocular Lenses

Intro: There are some things about aging you just can't control. Take your eye sight, for example. You can fight it, but after age 40 the fine print on restaurant menus gets hard to read. And as you continue to mature, cataracts can form. But now, doctors are implanting lenses that can correct these things and even more. Here's the latest from Mayo Clinic.

EDYTH TAYLOR IS HAVING CATARACT SURGERY. HER VISION IS SUCH THAT IT'S HARD FOR HER TO READ THE NUMBERS ON A CLOCK.

"I COULD GUESS. IT'S ABOUT FIVE AFTER ONE. BUT IT'S HAZY.

"AND THIS IS SHARP?"

"OH YEAH, THIS IS CLEAR AS CAN BE."

"WELL. WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO MATCH IT UP SO YOUR VISION IS EQUAL ON BOTH SIDES."

EDYTH'S ALREADY HAD ONE EYE DONE. NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE OTHER.

DR. DHARMENDRA PATEL SAYS THE NEW LENSES HE'S IMPLANTING WILL TAKE CARE OF CLOUDINESS CAUSED BY HER CATARACT. PLUS THEY'LL FIX A LOT MORE.

"THE NEWER IMPLANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE GIVE YOU MULTIFOCALITY. SO YOU WILL GET A GOOD CORRECTION FOR DISTANCE VISION, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO LASIK, BUT YOU ALSO GET THE CORRECTION FOR NEAR VISION, OR READING VISION. THAT'S SOMETHING UNIQUE TO THESE IMPLANTS."

ANOTHER PATIENT, JOYCE WISBY, GOT THE NEW INTRAOCULAR IMPLANTS A FEW MONTHS AGO.

"MY COWORKERS KEPT SAYING, 'YOU NEED TO HAVE THIS DONE. YOU CAN'T SEE!'"

JOYCE SAYS AFTER A LIFETIME OF POOR VISION MADE WORSE BY CATARACTS, SHE CAN FINALLY SEE THE FINE PRINT WITHOUT GLASSES OR CONTACTS.

"IF THE NUMBERS WERE REAL SMALL I'D HAVE TO GO AND ASK FOR HELP OR USE A MAGNIFYING GLASS EVEN WITH MY GLASSES. NOW I READ EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY'S COMING TO ME TO ASK ME TO HELP WITH THE NUMBERS."

DURING THE PROCEDURE, DR. PATEL NUMBS THE EYE WITH DROPS. THEN THROUGH TINY INCISIONS IN THE CORNEA, HE REMOVES THE LENS WITH THE CATARACT. NEXT HE INSERTS THE IMPLANT, WHICH UNFOLDS INTO POSITION. EDYTH JUST GOT OUT OF SURGERY.

"I CAN SEE THE CLOCK."

A 15 MINUTE OPERATION FOR A LIFE TIME OF BETTER VISION.

FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS.

Anchor tag:

Dr. Patel says these lenses are most commonly used for people with cataracts, but younger people who want correction from nearsightedness could benefit too.

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