Innovative Treatments Offer Hope for Cataract Patients

Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Tailor Lens Implants to Individual Patients

An Abu Dhabi hospital is offering a range of surgical and non-surgical treatments for patients with cataracts, a disease that causes blindness in approximately 20 million people worldwide. 

Cataracts cause a clouding of the eye’s lens, which can develop slowly over time. This clouding interferes with a patient’s vision more and more as it progresses, causing blurred or cloudy vision and potentially leading to blindness.

Cataracts are most common in people over 50, but diabetes and smoking can hasten the onset of the condition. 

“The earliest symptoms of cataracts are subtle, and patients often first notice changes in their eyeglass prescription. This is usually followed by seeing glare or halos around lights at night and a gradual yellowing or dimming of a patient’s vision. Over the last 10 years, technology has progressed so much that we can safely treat cataracts much earlier, sparing patients the gradual degradation of their vision. Advances in intraocular lens technology and surgical technique combined with more accurate eye measurement methods enable us to tailor implants to an individual patients’ specific needs,” explains Dr. Brian Armstrong , an ophthalmologist at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Cataracts can be cured through surgery to remove the clouded lens and replace it with an implant. Recent advances in technology and surgical techniques mean that surgeons can treat the condition much earli er than before, permanently restoring a patient’s vision to its pre-cataract levels before the worst of the symptoms set in. 

After removing the cataract, surgeons can implant a premium intraocular lens in a patient’s eye that will not only correct refractive error but also restore a full range of vision from distance to near. Previously, lens implants did not adequately restore vision at all focal distances, meaning patients who had cataract surgery would require glasses after surgery. The hospital’s Eye Institute evaluates the patient’s whole eye to determine if their eye is suitable for these types of implants. 

“Restoration of a person’s vision with eye surgery can be life changing. I’ve treated elderly patients who lost their sight from very mature cataracts. After surgery, they go from being blind to seeing like they could fifty years ago. It’s amazing and quite emotional to see their reaction to regaining their sight,” says Dr. Armstrong. 

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Eye Institute offers patients state-of-the-art digital imaging, surgical and laser procedures, and is one of the five Centers of Excellence at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. The Institute provides medical and surgical treatments ranging from laser vision correction (including LASIK and SMILE) to procedures for more serious ophthalmic conditions including uveitis and diabetic eye disorders, in both adults and children.

To book an appointment at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Eye Institute, call 800 8 CCAD (2223) or visit www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae.