Dr Brett Rogers - Specialist Cataract Surgeon

REFRACTIVE ERRORS AND REFRACTIVE CATARACT SURGERY WITH DR ROGERS: Short-sightedness (myopia),   Long-sightedness (hypermetropia)  and   Astigmatism

These three spectacle ("refractive") conditions all cause distance blur, however all three can be eliminated with refractive cataract surgery where Dr Rogers aims to reduce or eliminate dependence on spectacles for clear vision following cataract surgery.

• In short-sighted eyes (myopia), the eye has a resting focus at a near distance so myopic people see objects more clearly at a distance close to them, but distance vision is blurry.

• Hyperopia (long-sightedness) also causes distance vision blur but this often does not become noticeable until the eye starts to lose its ability to change focus, frequently in middle age. Distance and near vision are both reduced but near vision is even worse.

• Astigmatism causes an image to be blurry at all distances, and can significantly affect the clarity of images for both near and distance.

Patients undergoing cataract surgery with Dr Rogers can have all of these refractive conditions corrected during the operation, regardless of how much myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism is present before surgery and even if this has been present since childhood. This means you can expect to be able see well enough to drive a car without spectacles. There are also options to enable you to also see clearly for near vision without spectacles, following cataract surgery.

• Short-sightedness and long-sightedness are both corrected with a 'regular' intraocular lens (IOL).
• Astigmatism is corrected with an (optional) premium 'toric' IOL.
• Presbyopia can be helped by various types of lenses (IOLS) to improve near vision without spectacles.

Some suitable patients with significant refractive (spectacle) problems choose to have a 'clear lens exchange', which is essentially a cataract operation done at an earlier stage, mainly to correct significant spectacle problems.

• Clear Lens Exchange is a better alternative to Lasik in many patients and is particularly suitable for longsighted (hypermetropic) people with mild cataract, but sometimes even with no cataract at all. (Once treated, such patients of course will never develop cataract in the future.)

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https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/private/ophthalmology/dr-brett-rogers-specialist-cataract-surgeon-1/