Previously, glasses thick as bottle bottoms were worn to compensate for altered vision. When used on one eye, these glasses make it difficult for the brain to reconcile the magnified and unmagnified images. After cataract surgery, most people prefer a lens that fits on or in the eyeball. Formerly, contact lenses that rest on the cornea have been the treatment of choice. They can be fitted about 6 weeks after surgery, but the wearer must be able to handle them properly and keep them clean.
Intraocular lenses are a vast improvement over previous treatments.
They are implanted permanently into the eye during the same surgery that removes the cataract. After cataract surgery, many patients are troubled by bright sunlight, which can cause serious burns of the eye. Because the normal crystalline lens absorbs a certain amount of ultraviolet light, its removal during cataract surgery can expose the retina to increased ultra-violet light. For this reason, many intraocular lenses incorporate an ultraviolet filter. Although many people wonder if a laser will ever be used for cataract surgery, the laser's focused light is not suited for treating cataracts.