Cataract Surgery Brookfield

Cataracts develop when the lenses in your eyes become cloudy and no longer focus light on your retina. As you age, the proteins in your lenses break down, and the fragments clump together, which is what causes the clouding. Cataracts are also progressive; many patients begin to develop them in their 40s but don’t notice a change in their vision until their 60s.

Some of the symptoms of cataracts include:

• Clouded, blurred or dim vision
• Increasing difficulty with vision at night
• Sensitivity to light and glare
• Need for brighter light for reading and other activities
• Seeing “halos” around lights
• Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription
• Fading or yellowing of colors
• Double vision in a single eye

Even if you don’t need glasses or contact lenses, you should have a comprehensive eye exam regularly, so your eye doctor can monitor your eye health and provide treatment for cataracts and other eye diseases.

Surgery is the only treatment for cataracts, although Dr. Weinlander doesn’t recommend having surgery until your cataracts impair your vision to the point that using corrective lenses no longer helps. For example, some of the signs you need cataract surgery include:

• Can’t see enough to do your job or drive safely
• Problems reading or watching television
• Difficulties cooking, shopping, or taking medications
• Vision problems reduce your independence
• Bright lights make it more difficult to see

Dr. Weinlander offers thorough exams to monitor your condition. He recommends and performs cataract surgery when it’s your best option.

Dr. Weinlander offers all forms of cataract surgery, including state-of-the-art laser-assisted cataract surgery. After numbing your eyes, Dr. Weinlander carefully removes your cloudy lens and replaces it with a crystal-clear artificial lens implant.

He has extensive experience with the full range of lens options, including monofocal, trifocal, toric, and extended depth of focus lenses. He also routinely performs complex cataract surgery after ocular trauma as well as secondary lens implantation.

Cataract surgery is generally a safe procedure when performed by a board-certified ophthalmologist like Dr. Weinlander. However, there are certain risks that patients need to know about before undergoing treatment. These risks include infection, bleeding, inflammation, swelling, vision loss, and needing a second surgery to fix something that goes wrong during the first surgery. The liklihood of any complication is between 1:300 to 1:500 (or less than 0.5%), which is less than the risk of driving a car. The most common complication after cataract surgery is posterior capsular opacifiction, a film that can develop over the lens implant. This is easily corrected with a painless laser procedure in the office. 

Before you can have cataract surgery performed, you must be deemed a suitable candidate for the procedure.

You are a good candidate if you meet the following criteria:

• You experience frequent vision problems
• You have overall good eye health
• You are medically fit
• You have realistic expectations
• You are willing to follow post-operative instructions

Dr. Weinlander will assess your current eye health and medical history to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for cataract surgery.

Your vision is blurry for a couple of days after your cataract surgery. As your swelling subsides, your vision clears. Your eyes might also feel itchy, but you should avoid rubbing them.

You have follow-up appointments with Dr. Weinlander after a couple of days, then two weeks, and a month following your surgery so he can monitor your recovery.

If you need cataract surgery and are looking for an experienced surgeon, call Milwaukee Eye Surgeons or make an appointment online today.

Laser-assisted surgery offers greater precision, especially in corneal incisions and lens fragmentation.

Your lifestyle, daily visual needs, and personal preferences help guide the best choice of IOL.

Patients should follow pre-surgery instructions, take prescribed eye drops, and avoid strenuous activity for a short period after surgery. Our team provides detailed pre- and post-surgery instructions to help make your cataract surgery a smooth and comfortable process start to finish.