Why do I need a new lens after removing a cataract?

Why do doctors put a lens in the eye after removing a cataract? Is it possible to remove a cataract without surgery? What are the chances of having a cataract again, after surgery?

This question shows how we eye doctors could be doing a much better job educating our patients! A "cataract" is not a disease, growth, skim, film, or any sort of covering of the natural lens of the eye -it IS the (dysfunctional) lens of the eye, hardened and discolored, usually due to no more than natural aging. So surgically removing a cataract is not like taking out a diseased gallbladder -it is actually like removing a degenerated hip and replacing it with an artificial joint that can restore its proper function.

Can you remove a cataract and not replace it with an artificial lens implant? Sure, but then your eye would hardly see very well without resorting to very thick glasses. Can you remove a cataract without surgery? No -but not every cataract needs surgery. The chance of a "cataract coming back" is almost nil -but some people do often need a later supplementary YAG laser treatment to restore full visual function -but only once, not again and again.

Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic