Patient Information
Clear answers to the questions patients ask most often about cataract, lens choice, glaucoma, and complex eye surgery.
Please read first. These answers give general information about common eye conditions and procedures. They cannot replace an examination. Every eye differs, and the right treatment depends on findings specific to you. If you have symptoms or a diagnosis, discuss your own situation at consultation.
A cataract is the natural clouding of the eye's lens, causing blurred vision, glare, faded colours, and difficulty seeing at night. It commonly develops with ageing, but may also follow trauma, diabetes, steroid use, or other eye disease.
Surgery is advised when the cataract begins to interfere with daily activities such as reading, driving, working, or recognising faces. There is no need to wait until the cataract becomes “mature”.
No. Modern cataract surgery is usually performed under topical (eye drop) or local anaesthesia, and most patients experience little or no pain.
Most uncomplicated surgeries take around 10–20 minutes, though preparation and recovery require additional time.
No. The cataract itself does not return. Some patients develop clouding of the capsule behind the implanted lens, called posterior capsule opacification, which is treated quickly with a YAG laser.
Many patients notice improved vision within a few days, but complete healing usually takes four to six weeks.
Use the prescribed drops regularly, avoid rubbing the eye, keep water and dust away for several days, avoid heavy lifting during early recovery, and attend every scheduled follow-up.
An intraocular lens is an artificial lens implanted during cataract surgery to replace the clouded natural lens.
Premium lenses offer visual benefits beyond a standard monofocal lens. Depending on the type, they may reduce dependence on spectacles for distance, intermediate or near vision, or correct astigmatism.
Monofocal, toric, extended depth of focus (EDOF), trifocal and multifocal. The right choice depends on your eye health, lifestyle and expectations.
No. Glaucoma, retinal disease, an irregular cornea, previous eye surgery or severe dry eye may make premium lenses less suitable.
Some can, but not everyone. The decision depends on the severity of glaucoma, visual field status, optic nerve health, and expected long-term vision.
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve, often in association with raised eye pressure. Untreated, it can lead to permanent loss of vision.
No. Vision already lost to glaucoma cannot usually be restored. Early diagnosis and treatment can, however, preserve the vision that remains.
No. Early glaucoma often has no warning signs at all, which is precisely why regular eye examination matters.
Age over 40, a family history of glaucoma, diabetes, raised eye pressure, high myopia, long-term steroid use, and previous eye injury all increase risk.
Assessment may include eye pressure measurement, optic nerve examination, gonioscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), visual field testing, and corneal thickness measurement.
Yes. Treatment may involve eye drops, laser procedures, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, or conventional glaucoma surgery, depending on the type and severity.
Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery refers to a group of tissue-sparing procedures designed to lower eye pressure with less surgical trauma than traditional glaucoma surgery.
Patients with mild to moderate glaucoma, particularly those already undergoing cataract surgery, may benefit from MIGS.
Smaller incisions, faster recovery, a better safety profile, reduced dependence on glaucoma medication in selected patients, and preservation of conjunctival tissue should further surgery be needed later.
No. Advanced glaucoma may still require trabeculectomy or a glaucoma drainage device.
These are procedures addressing difficult conditions of the cornea, iris, lens, capsule, zonules and anterior chamber, where routine cataract surgery is not sufficient.
Pupilloplasty is the surgical repair of a pupil that has been damaged or permanently dilated, usually after injury or previous surgery. Fine sutures are used to bring the iris back towards a round, functional aperture.
Pupillary cerclage is used when the pupil is widely and permanently dilated — most often traumatic mydriasis, where the iris sphincter has been torn. A continuous suture is passed circumferentially through the iris and drawn up, reducing the pupil to a more natural size.
A pupil that cannot constrict allows too much light into the eye, causing persistent glare, light sensitivity, and difficulty focusing. Patients often describe being unable to tolerate sunlight or oncoming headlights. Repair addresses both the visual difficulty and the appearance of the eye.
Yes. It is frequently performed alongside cataract surgery, intraocular lens implantation or scleral fixation, since these problems often occur together after significant trauma.
A Cionni ring is used when the lens capsule lacks adequate support because the zonules are weak or damaged — as in trauma, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, Marfan syndrome, ectopia lentis, or after previous eye surgery.
The ring is anchored to the white of the eye, the sclera, using sutures, giving long-term support to the lens capsule and the intraocular lens.
This is an advanced technique developed to simplify scleral fixation of a Cionni ring. Prethreading the suture into the needle before surgery may improve surgical control, reduce manipulation, and support safer implantation in selected complex cases.
Many complex procedures involve extremely fine sutures that remain permanently in place. They are usually neither visible nor felt.
Every surgery carries risk. With careful patient selection, modern technique and experienced surgical care, good outcomes can often be achieved even in complex eyes.
Most adults should have a comprehensive eye examination every one to two years. Those with diabetes, glaucoma or other eye disease usually require more frequent review.
Yes. Diabetes can cause diabetic retinopathy, cataract, glaucoma and other sight-threatening conditions.
Previous prescriptions, previous eye reports, your current medications, your existing spectacles, and records of any previous surgery.
These answers are general information and cannot replace an examination. Every eye is different, and the right treatment depends on findings specific to you. Please discuss your own situation at consultation.
These answers are written and reviewed by Dr. Md Iftekher Iqbal from current ophthalmic practice and peer-reviewed literature. They are reviewed at least once a year, and sooner when practice changes. Where evidence is uncertain or an answer depends on individual findings, that is stated rather than simplified away.
If your question is not answered here, bring it to your consultation — or send it in writing.