Cataracts are not cancerous. Appropriate health care includes treatment by an ophthalmologist or surgery to remove the lens. Cataracts are one of the possible complications of classic galactosemia. Cataracts are mostly observed in newborns but can also occur in adults. Once a newborn is put on a galactose-restricted diet, cataracts usually clear up on their own.
Surgery is sometimes necessary in rarer cases.
It is believed that if the galactose restricted diet is followed, cataracts do not develop in galactosemic children. Many patients have eye examinations to check for the presence of cataracts on a regular basis.