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CATARACT SURGERY

In New York City

Cataracts are quite common among adults 60 and older; in fact, everyone will ultimately develop a cataract if they live long enough. Cataracts are generally caused by the natural aging process, but can occur with certain medical conditions, after trauma, after intraocular eye surgery, or after using certain medications. Dr. Rapoport is a cataract surgery expert and performs surgical removal of the cataract and implants a replacement lens as an outpatient procedure in the operating room.

CATARACT SURGERY NYC

"Dr Rapoport is a skilled, knowledgeable, sincerely caring medical professional."

MJ / New York

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CATARACT SURGERY FAQS

What Is A Cataract?

The internal lens of the eye can become cloudy and/or hard, a condition known as a cataract.  Cataracts can develop from normal aging, from an eye injury, or if you have taken certain medications, such as steroids.  Cataracts may cause blurred vision, dulled vision, sensitivity to light and glare, and/or ghost images.  If the cataract changes vision to the extent that it interferes with your daily life, the cataract may need to be removed. Surgery is the only way to remove a cataract.  You can decide not to have the cataract removed and live with your current vision.  If you don’t have the surgery, your vision loss from the cataract will continue to get worse. It is very normal for adults over 50 years of age to have some type of cataract.
As the cataract gets more dense, you may notice that your vision is blurry at distance or near even with the most optimized pair of glasses. You may also notice that colors are not as bright as they once were. Finally, you may notice glare and halos with oncoming halos.
As a cataract progresses, your prescription becomes more near-sighted, and some people may notice that they can actually see better at near. Some people call this “second sight.”
cataracts eye disease

Why Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery is needed to physically remove the cloudy lens. There are no medical treatments to remove the lens. Dr. Rapoport performs surgical removal of the cataract and implants a replacement lens as an outpatient procedure in the operating room. The cataract sits in a bag, and Dr. Rapoport creates a hole in the front of the bag, by laser or by hand, then breaks apart the cataract by laser and/ or ultrasound energy, and removes the cataract. A new foldable lens goes into the eye and opens up like a taco. The prescription of the new lens that is chosen is meant to replace the function of the natural lens, and can be corrected for distance vision, intermediate, near or both. 

What to Expect from Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery is performed at an outpatient ambulatory surgery center (ASC). You will start antibiotic drops two days prior the surgery. Upon arrival to the facility, antibiotic and dilating drops are given, and topical anesthesia and an IV for sedation are given prior to the surgery. In some cases, the first part of the surgery will be done by laser. During the laser, you will see a lot of lights and feel some fluid while the laser does a few steps of the surgery, including correcting the astigmatism, creating a hole in the bag, and breaking apart the cataract. For the second part of the surgery (or the first if you are not doing laser), the skin around the eye is cleaned and then drapes are placed around the eye. Small incisions are then made and the cataract is removed using ultrasound energy. An acrylic lens is then placed inside the bag and serves to replace the function of the natural lens, but with more clarity. The lens chosen can correct for distance vision, intermediate, near, or all three ranges.  Some patients may still need to wear glasses, but some intraocular lenses can be chosen to decrease the dependence on glasses.
If glaucoma is present, a procedure can be performed at the same time to decrease the intraocular pressure and reduce reliance on glaucoma drops.
There is very little discomfort after the surgery- it may feel dry or irritated. Most patients are able to resume to most activities the next day, including driving, working, and walking around. Exercise is restricted for one week.
Dr. Rapoport spends time with each patient to assess their individual visual needs and together with the patient comes up with the best implant and customized vision plan for each patient.

Dr. Rapoport Named Castle Connolly’s Top Cataract and Cornea Doctor.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors

WHY CHOOSE MANHATTAN EYE?

Cataract Surgery in NYC with Dr. Rapoport

Dr. Rapoport is a cataract surgery expert and has extensive expertise in refractive cataract surgery. Nowadays, besides just removing the cloudy leans, you have the ability to correct your vision so that your reliance on glasses is minimal. She does this using when appropriate a combination femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery to correct astigmatism, and a variety of intraocular lenses such as toric lenses (to correct astigmatism), multifocal, trifocal, and extended depth of field lenses. Dr. Rapoport has experience implanting both the Symfony and the Alcon Panoptix lens, the newest FDA-approved lens that is providing excellent distance and near vision. Dr. Rapoport takes meticulous measurements and calculations at your cataract surgery consultation, and guides each patient to a well-informed individualized surgical plan, taking into account your specific ocular circumstances and visual goals.
Additionally, Dr. Rapoport is one of the first surgeons in New York City to successfully use the Ocular Therapetuix’ Dextenza insert routinely after cataract surgery to minimize the quantity and length of time that a patient has to be on drops after surgery. Dr. Rapoport inserts this device at the end of surgery by and it time releases a steroid medication over the course of the month after surgery. This allows for most patients to not need a steroid drop post –operatively.
In the past, patients had to be on up to 3 drops for 6 weeks. Now most patients will only need to be on 1 drop for a week post-operatively. This is a huge relief for patients who struggle to put drops in, for various reasons such as cost, cosmesis, poor dexterity, discomfort, corneal toxicity, or forgetfulness. 

 

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