Our eyes change in several ways as we age. Cataracts are amongst these age-related changes and they occur when the natural lens loses its clarity. This loss of clarity can result in blurred vision, glare, fading colours, and poor night vision. This loss of vision can greatly impact an individual’s quality of life. You don’t have to live with cataracts, and delaying cataract surgery isn’t always the best choice, but understandably for some people going ahead with surgery can be so daunting that they would rather let their eyesight continue to deteriorate.
The top three reasons many people put off cataract surgery:
It’s not surprising that fear is among the top three reasons why people delay surgery; but fear shouldn’t stop you as a cataract will get gradually worse over time and, whilst a cataract can be operated on at any stage, if you continue to leave it to develop, the surgery you eventually undergo to regain your sight can be more complicated.
Here at SpaMedica we understand the anxiety our patients feel when they are considering cataract surgery. We asked some of our previous patients what advice and reassurance they would give to someone considering cataract surgery. Here are just a few of their responses:
George: “I would highly recommend it – get it done, you won’t believe the difference.”
Jean: “(The Nurses) were brilliant, they really look after you and calm your nerves down, you sort of think, ‘…gosh I can’t go through with this…’, but they were so good, you know (they said), ‘You just hold my hand if you want, or squeeze it…’, but I never felt anything, and after it was just so good.
“(The surgeon) just talked me through what he was doing and the next thing it was done and you think, ‘…is it that simple?!’, but it is and there’s no fear. I might have to have the left one done and I wouldn’t dream of being frightened of it, I would just come and get it done and go back home.
“Don’t be afraid of anything because everybody is just so reassuring and you don’t feel a thing, you don’t, you feel nothing even when they are putting the drops in, because I thought, ‘They are going to put a big injection in my eye…’, but no, like I say they are just so reassuring and I’d recommend it to anybody and say don’t be afraid, you can’t feel anything.
“I was so scared, my husband had cataracts, and my mum had cataracts but years ago, I don’t think they did it like they do today. Today it’s just wonderful. I would recommend it to anybody to get it done instead of leaving it until it’s too late. Your sight is the most important thing for you.”
Keith: “Don’t worry unduly because yes, you’re bound to be concerned, it’s your eye and we all value our eyesight very, very, highly but the procedure is pain free that’s for sure. There’s lots of bright lights and those sorts of effects but beyond that it really is a pain free, seamless procedure and all over with in one and a half to two hours and you’re out the other end, so to speak, and the improvements begin from there – just don’t worry unduly at all.”
Stephen: “You’re going to be nervous, obviously, because I was. But my advice is just come here, get it done and it will make a massive difference to the quality of your life so I would recommend this place, come here and get looked after and as I say your life will improve, quality wise, ten-fold.”
A huge thank you to our patients for sharing their experiences with us. Each of the 13 patients we interviewed post-operatively echoed the same messages of reassurance.
We understand that you will always have concerns before any kind of surgery; our eyes are precious to us all, but our friendly team are here for you every step of the way to provide as much (or as little) information as you would like and to hold your hand for moral support!
You can watch our interviews with the patients mentioned above – and several others – here.
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