what is
Cataract Surgery?
A standard part of the aging process, a cataract is a cloudiness of the eye's natural
lens that dims or blurs vision, often causing a glare or halo around lights at night and difficulty seeing
or reading in low light. If your sight becomes too poor to carry on routine activities, the solution is to
surgically remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial lens or IOL (intraocular lens).
Cataract surgery is a very safe procedure, with more than two million surgeries performed worldwide annually. Laser cataract surgery has also improved precision and visual outcomes, with fewer patients needing to wear glasses after the surgery.
The board-certified doctors at North Georgia Eye Associates remove cataracts on an outpatient basis with far greater precision by microsurgery. After removal of the cataract, we place a new lens in the eye using the same microscopic incision, with faster recovery and reduced dependence on glasses.
As a result of this progress, cataract surgery is significantly simpler, which means increased patient comfort. More than 2 million cataract procedures are performed worldwide annually.
How Do You Know If You Have Cataracts?
If you have a cataract, you may notice signs like:
These are only some of the signs of cataracts. If you suspect you could have cataracts, schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist at North Georgia Eye Associates.
Laser Cataract Surgery
laser surgery
Safe and Precise
One of the safest ophthalmologic procedures, laser cataract surgery, is even more precise, and recovery time is faster with state-of-the-art bladeless laser technology. North Georgia Eye Associates is on the leading edge of this technology as the first practice in Georgia to perform laser cataract surgery.
Like traditional cataract surgery, an incision is made in the eye, the natural clouded lens is removed, and a new lens is inserted. The laser replaces the hand-held blade to allow the most precise and smallest possible incision, about 1/18th inch.
The computer-controlled laser allows our cataract surgeons to plan and perform the surgery to exact individual specifications not attainable with other surgical methods, resulting in better overall vision.
Request an AppointmentFemtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery
State-of-the-Art Technology
North Georgia Eye Associates continues to invest in technology, bringing state-of-the-art procedures to Northeast Georgia.
North Georgia Eye Associates ophthalmologists Matthew B. Kaufman, Matthew W. Hollar, and Bhairavi Dholakia performed Georgia's first laser cataract surgery, bringing a new advancement in cataract treatment to the state and region. The procedure results in faster recovery and more consistent surgical outcomes.
Like LASIK surgery, the Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery uses a computer-controlled laser that allows the surgeons to plan and perform the surgery to exact, individual specifications not attainable with other surgical procedures.
All North Georgia Eye Associates ophthalmologists — Matthew B. Kaufman, Matthew W. Hollar, and Bhairavi Dholakia — are trained and perform the Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery.
Request an AppointmentPremium Iol's
Personalized Options
North Georgia Eye Associates is also the first practice in Georgia to use an innovative technology called Verion. Verion is an image-guided system that guides the laser during cataract surgery, eliminating many surgical variables and achieving even better results.
North Georgia Eye Associates ophthalmologists use the Femtosecond Laser, the LuxOR LX3 ophthalmic microscope, and the Centurion vision system to perform laser cataract surgeries. With the addition of the Verion machine, the surgery center is now utilizing the complete Alcon Cataract Refractive Suite.
Several lenses also help patients enjoy crisp, clear, and potentially glasses-free vision from near, far, and everywhere in between. North Georgia Eye Associates can help you choose the right lens implant for optimal vision after surgery.
Learn more about our premium lens optionsORA (Optiwave Refractive Analysis)
The ORA SYSTEM® with VerifEye®+ technology is one of the technologies your doctor will use to tailor your cataract procedure to your unique eye.
Cataracts are a natural part of the aging process. You didn't choose them, but you did choose your doctor — and you can choose how they're treated. By now, you may have heard about customized cataract procedures designed to correct conditions such as astigmatism and presbyopia during your cataract procedure. The ORA SYSTEM® with VerifEye®+ technology is one of the technologies your doctor will use to tailor your cataract procedure to your unique eye.
Basic cataract surgery is generally a safe and common procedure that removes your cloudy lens but does not address other visual disorders. To ensure best-case results after basic cataract surgery, you may need follow-up visits and glasses to correct visual disorders like astigmatism — potentially delaying improvements to your vision.
Like a GPS, the ORA SYSTEM® helps your doctor navigate your unique eye during surgery. This provides your doctor with the real-time guidance they need for more satisfactory results before you leave the operating room.
ALLY
LENSAR ALLY Adaptive Cataract Treatment System is the first platform to combine imaging and a dual-pulse femtosecond laser in one system, making it the future of cataract surgery. Benefits of using the ALLY system during laser cataract surgery include:
ALLY uses Adaptive Intelligence to optimize femtosecond laser and emulsification treatments. Using Cataract Density Imaging, available in the LENSAR Laser System, ALLY can automatically categorize the density of a cataract while also identifying the nucleus and layers of the lens of the cataract. With this information, ALLY can provide a tissue-specific treatment that's customized to fragmentation patterns along with energy settings unique to each surgeon.
In turn, patients can look forward to the most precise and accurate results following laser cataract surgery, less time spent recovering, and more time to enjoy their new, beautiful vision.