Dozens of millions of people around the world suffer from cataract. It is responsible for over half the cases of blindness, so you shouldn’t neglect your eye care. There are several effective methods of treatment. Here in the UVEA Mediklinik you can always rely on our team of top experts.

Cataract is the result of ageing, but can also affect young people

The ocular lens is usually transparent, but when affected by cataract, it becomes cloudy. This makes it less transparent and presents the sun’s rays from passing through to the retina. Vision is obscured, as if covered by a veil. The patient becomes short-sighted, thus compensating frequent old-age long-sightedness. This means that they suddenly see better at a short distance, but their capacity of focusing on more distant objects becomes worse. Double vision or changes in the perception of colour intensity sometimes appear.

It can affect one or two eyes. Although it can occur in young people, in exceptional cases even in new-born babies, it usually affects people aged from 50 to 60. It is caused by chemical changes inside the eye which naturally occur during the ageing process, although there are other causes, too. For example, diabetes, infections, eye injuries, the use of certain medicines (corticoids, cytostatic agents), the excessive action of infrared and ultraviolet radiation or an unhealthy lifestyle. Even genetic factors have an impact. Cataract occurs more frequently in women and people with dark skin.

Surgery is the solution

Cataract is treated by surgery, and it is in fact the most frequent surgery in the world. Here in the UVEA Mediklinik cataract surgery is one of the operations which we will perform free of charge, just like in a state hospital.

Patients can choose from several methods. During a standard cataract operation, the eye’s natural lens is replaced by an artificial intraocular lens. The technique used to remove the natural lens is called phacoemulsification. The doctors introduce a special ultrasound probe into the eye and pull out the lens using a small cut measuring a few millimetres. In its place, they insert an artificial replacement. The operation might sound complicated, but in fact it is completely safety and lasts no longer than 15 minutes.

The second method uses a femtosecond laser. We recommend this method to patients. The special laser guarantees better precision for the operation than a surgeon’s eye. The laser ray “breaks up” the cloudy lens and makes three basic microsurgical cuts. This also makes the operation quicker, speeds up the healing process and is more gentle on the eye tissue. The patient can function normally after one or two days. The result should be felt after a few weeks, but most patients say that they have improved vision straight after the surgery.

If you decide to have cataract surgery without any extra payment in our clinic, make an appointment by telephone on 043  - 401 26 10, or fill in our appointment form which we will use to contact you.