My Eye Doctor Said My Cataract is Going to Explode in My Eye! Really!!!

Unfortunately, cataract surgery has become one of the most unnecessary surgeries in the United States. Patients are told all kinds of crazy stories about why their cataracts need to be removed. Many are told that if the cataract remains in their eye any longer, it will damage their eyes. If the cataract isn’t removed now, it will be much more difficult later, with many more complications.

Unfortunately, too many doctors are more interested in making money than providing proper and compassionate care to their patients.

What is a Cataract?
A cataract is actually not a film or piece of tissue that grows over the eye that blurs people’s vision. There is a lens inside of the eye that is positioned behind the pupil and the colored portion of the eye (iris) that focuses light as it passes through the pupil to be focused onto the retina (the retina is similar to the film of a camera as it receives the object you are looking at). The lens becomes hazy or cloudy from aging and various other reasons, and this cloudiness blurs the vision.

The term cataract comes from the description of rapids or a waterfall in a river. The water is clear until it reaches the rapids or waterfall and then the water turns white. Before there was cataract surgery, the pupil would turn white when the cataract became very advanced.

The image that the retina sees is transmitted from the retina through the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits the image to the back portion of the brain called the occipital lobe. The occipital lobe is the vision center inside the brain.

As the human body ages, this lens behind the pupil loses its clarity over time. The lens becomes hazy or cloudy. As the lens becomes progressively hazy or cloudy, it causes the vision to blur. It is similar to the windshield of your car fogging and diminishing your ability to see through the windshield as the fogging progresses.

Do You Need to Have Cataract Surgery?

This is absolutely one of the most important things you need to know about cataracts: There is almost never a medical reason or emergency for cataract surgery.

In very rare circumstances, there are medical indications for you to have your cataract removed. Cataract surgery is an elective eye operation, not a requirement. Unfortunately, many people are being told that they must have cataract surgery or need cataract surgery. Many are told they need to have the cataract surgery right away, as there will be more complications that can harm their eye.

Why or When Should You Consider Cataract Eye Surgery?
The only reason for cataract removal surgery is if your blurred vision is interfering with your lifestyle, that is, if you are having trouble reading books which is your passion, the distance vision is blurred to the point that you are not happy with what you can see, you are having trouble driving at night, or you are having difficulty seeing well enough at work. The only real reason to have cataract extraction surgery is that you are unhappy with your vision, not that the eye doctor tells you it is time.

​You know better than anyone else how your blurred vision is affecting your daily life. Choosing to have cataract treatment surgeries are elective operations. It is your choice of the right time for you to decide that you need better vision, and not when an eye doctor wants to perform more surgery, period.