Cataract treatable, says AEI ophthalmologist

Cataract, an eye disease usually associated with age, is prevalent not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. Although affecting millions of people worldwide, this widespread eye disease is highly treatable unlike other eye diseases whose damage can be permanent and irreversible.

According to Dr. Pik Sha Chan-Uy, a cataract surgeon at the ultra modern eye care center Asian Eye Institute (AEI) in Rockwell, Makati City, the majority of eye surgeries being done in the Philippines involve cataract.

Uy corrected an earlier article (S&T Section, Feb. 26) which stated that "cataract can be removed with the simple use of special eye drops."

"Surgery is the only treatment possible to cure cataract," she said.

She said there are two ways of extracting cataract, namely phacoemulsification and ECCE (extra capsular cataract extraction).

Phacoemulsification, the most commonly performed technique, involves dissolving the cataract and vacuuming the small pieces through the tip of an instrument. This way, only a small wound is created.

At AEI, most cataract cases are surgically treated with phacoemulsification. "Once extracted, the lens is immediately replaced with an artificial one so that the patient can already see after the procedure," Uy said.

Uy added that the implanted lens does not dissolve and, when correctly placed inside the eye, will normally last a lifetime.

Another surgical method is the ECCE, which requires making a corneal incision and practically removing the entire lens. It usually necessitates stitches after surgery. Patients may experience discomfort and may have to go through a longer recovery period.

In the pre-intraocular lens implant era, patients who undergo cataract surgery have to wear glasses with thick lenses to be able to see again. But this is now replaced by the implanted intraocular lens.

But while cataract is age-sensitive, many can acquire them at a young age. "Some get it much earlier, while others later," Uy said. Some children get it very early because of congenital cataract or due to heredity factors. "I have a patient whose (child) had a congenital cataract," she said.

Apart from age, cataract can also be caused by trauma and inflammation of the eye. And as long as the cataract is not accompanied by other eye diseases, the damage is treatable and reversible, according to Uy.

Uy has been doing eye operations on adult and children alike, although she admitted that examining children is trickier as they are restless and apprehensive.

"And that is only natural, I think. What I do is I play with them first and try to earn their trust by talking and sometimes playing with them. After that, everything runs smoothly," she said.

Uy advised everyone to have a regular annual eye check which, she said, could go a long way in preventing a cataract from getting worse.

She said Filipinos should see an ophthalmologist regularly and not only when they already have symptoms of an eye disease. According to her, even people with 20/20 vision wouldn’t really know if they are already afflicted with cataract. She said that an eye expert, with the proper tools, can easily determine if a person is suffering from cataract or not.

Uy is a retina specialist and the first clinical fellow to complete training in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus under Dr. Nathalie Azar of the Harvard Medical School.