Cataract Surgery: When is the Right Time?

Four Questions to Help You Decide When It’s Right Time to Have Cataract Surgery

If you have been told that you have a cataract how do you decide when it’s time to have cataract surgery and lens implants? This may be challenging but doesn’t need to be difficult if you know how to think it through by asking some important questions.

Are your cataracts impacting your daily or occupational activities?
Symptoms of cataracts include dim, blurry or yellowed vision and can even double vision in a single eye. The lack of contrast and clarity can be difficult for those who need clear vision for work, driving or who enjoy hobbies like reading, cooking or sewing.

Are your cataracts affecting your ability to drive safely at night?
Cataracts can cause halos around lights and difficulty seeing in low-light settings, impacting the ability to safely drive at night. Advanced cataracts can even cause enough vision loss to fail the vision test required for a driver’s license.

Are your cataracts interfering with the outdoor activities you enjoy?
Cataracts can also increase sensitivity to glare, which can be especially troublesome for those who enjoy skiing, surfing and a number of other outdoor activities. They can also cause visual differences from one eye to the other, which can affect the distance vision golfers need.

Can you manage your cataracts in other ways?
Those who decide “it’s not yet time” and to put off cataract surgery can make the most of their vision with a few simple tools, such as incorporating brighter lighting and contrasting colors in the home. Polarized sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat can reduce glare, while magnifying lenses can make reading easier.

Nearly 25.7 million Americans over age 40 have cataracts and the number is projected to increase to 45.6 million by 2050. While the only way to remove cataracts, the right time to have surgery depends on the individual patient. Although the prospect of cataract surgery can be intimidating, the procedure itself is the most common elective surgery among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Studies have demonstrated the relationship between having cataracts removed and improved quality of life, reduced risk of falling, fewer car crashes and even a lower long-term mortality risk than those who did not.

If cataracts aren’t disrupting your life, you can probably wait and have surgery when they really start to bother you. But for those who are feeling impeded by their blurry or dulled vision, the procedure can make a significant beneficial impact.

If you or some you know is experiencing cataract symptoms such as cloudy foggy vision, glare or difficult night driving and would like to learn more about cataract surgery & lens implants please call The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.

Story About Lens Implants for Vision Correction

“On Monday, I had a multifocal lens replacement done on my right eye.  It was amazing on Tuesday morning when I checked my phone and was able to see and text without my glasses!  I hated wearing reading glasses.  I needed them so often – but not constantly – that I had to keep them with me at all times.  So if my phone rang or someone texted me, I would have to first get my glasses before I could see who was calling or texting me.  I would put the glasses on my head and they would either get stuck in my hair and break my hair or I would bend over and they would fall off my head. I was actually looking to have KAMRA done (the equivalent to LASIK but for “reading”).  I thought about it for a long time and decided to have a consultation.  During the consultation with Dr. Confino, I learned that I was not a candidate for KAMRA but that a lens replacement (right eye only) was the way to go.  Also, in that eye, I would never get a cataract and my eyesight would never worsen. Since my lens replacement, I’ve been very happy.  I am able to see without my glasses.  It’s not perfect yet but it’s only a couple days after surgery.  My eye still has swelling and pressure and will take some time to get back to normal.  The procedure was easy and painless.  The worse thing about it is all the eye drops – but that’s a small price to pay – and that will end! I am very happy that I went ahead and did this.  It was the right decision for me!” - RD

If you or some you know would to learn more about Lens Implants for Vision Correction please call The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.

Dennis Tells Us About His LASIK Experience

“Once upon a time, not long ago if you asked me if I could see well, the answer was NO…In fact, my odds of ever seeing well, were less than my odds of winning the jack pot in a casino. Oh but then I met Dr. Joel Confino… here’s my story.

I am 56 years old and for 50 + of those years I have had very bad vision. I have struggled with glasses at a young age and contacts for the past 20 years. I have continuously had problems with each and have almost never had success getting satisfactory vision. I used to be an amateur boxer and everyone marveled at how well I slipped punches, what they didn’t know was that I did so, so well, because I didn’t see the punches until the very last second and was able to dodge them. Everyone thought it was a skill but I knew it was good reflexes at the very last second. In my latter years, my vision got worse and was horrible to the extent that I couldn’t drive at night whenever it rained because the glare from the car lights and the wet streets literally blinded me. I often would miss exits and streets because I couldn’t see the signs until I was right up on them.. On 2 occasions, I literally came a few feet from crashing over a guard rail because I didn’t see that the road curved until I was right up on it. At work I oversee several departments and am always in meetings and presentations.. so many times I was lost because I couldn’t see the projections from only a few feet away or had blood shot puffy eyes from straining to see the computer or having particles in my contacts. So in a nut shell, my vision throughout my life was never good.

Over the years I have gone to so many eye doctors and had so many of the “latest” eye exams only to be told I was practically legally blind and the eye glass or contact lens prescription I had was the best I could get. Even though I was paying almost $650.00 a year for the contact lens I was wearing, I was told they were the strongest I could get. Glasses also cost me over $600.00 because of the prescription and what it took to keep the lens as thin as possible, which was still very thick. One doctor even joked, I can right you a prescription for a seeing eye dog. Needless to say I was frustrated and basically figured this is what I have to deal with for the rest of my life. Then I started hearing and seeing the radio and television advertisements for Lasik surgery and other eye correction procedures. All promising to be the best in this field with an extremely high success rate. So I went to see some of them only to again be discouraged because I was told time and time again that I was not a candidate for these procedures and my vision was too bad to be corrected, etc., etc.,.. I truly gave up and was truly convinced that this was a done deal and my vision was my vision to keep.

One day I’m sitting in a physician’s office and I’m thumbing through a magazine. I saw an article about a Dr. Joel Confino who had done great work with individuals who historically were not candidates for eye corrections using Lasik or Refractive surgery. It went on to say that some of the worst vision has seen improvement. Once again my eyebrow raised because I have heard this before. However, after reading the entire article and being the fighter that I am, I decided to give the Eye Care and Surgery Center a call. I was greeted by a receptionist who gave me an appointment for a consultation visit. Little did I know, and I really didn’t have high hopes because of past experiences, that this would be the beginning of a life changing event. I arrived and was given a battery of eye tests and asked many questions, all the time waiting to hear that this was not going to be of help to me but thank you for coming in… I finally met the man.. Dr. Joel Confino. He sat with me and was reading my results and looked very complexed.. He advised me that I had very bad vision (heard it before) and that I wasn’t a candidate for Lasik surgery (heard it before) BUT… “I can help you” (never heard that before). He went on to tell me that although I had a special case he was confident that he could get my vision twice as better than it was and better than any contacts or glasses I was wearing or could wear. I started bubbling but inside I was still waiting for the letdown… IT NEVER CAME.. Dr. Confino advised me he would come up with a plan and procedure and that, although it would be complicated, he was confident he could make it work. He then introduced me to Jerette Lerner his Surgical Director and she is to customer care what he is to eye surgery and they are now 2 of my most favorite people in life.

I can see so much better, so much clearer and almost a year into the results, I still can’t believe it. I smile and thank God (and Dr. Confino and his team) every day. I still wake up some days with my first thought being ”uugh I fell asleep with my contacts in” because I’m seeing clearly, only to remember I don’t wear them anymore. This procedure has changed my life in every aspect. From being able to lay in my bed and see the TV, to reading license plates on cars in front of me, to swimming without worrying about my contacts, to being able to sit anywhere in a conference room at work and see the projection..  I see everything and from a distance. I can’t say enough about this procedure except if you can get it done.. get it done. Easily the BEST decision I have ever made in my life. Thank you Dr. Confino, thank you Jerette.”- Dennis

If you or someone you know is tired of the hassle of glasses or contact lenses for seeing at distance and would like to find out if LASIK might be a good vision correction option, please call The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.