It must have been quite recent, then. A friend of mine had a cataract removed
5 years ago, and she had to wait quite some time while it "ripened" or
whatever. In the meantime, she was almost blind, having severe cataracts
in both eyes. I remember that after she had the cataract removed from one
eye, she was overjoyed. She kept saying, "Wow! The *colors*!" like someone
on LSD. :)

Joyce

In all fairness, in those days we didn't have the antibiotics available to
treat tonsillitis that we have today.  Penicillin was about it and a lot of
people either were allergic, or became allergic after using it for a while.

Jo

Cataracts are caused by the eye's natural lens gradually turning
opaque.  This is a structure internal to the front of the eye, and
shaped like the lens in a magnifying glass.  Once the cloudy lens is
removed, a replacement lens is necessary, whether as an implant, a
contact lens resting on the front of the eye, or as glasses.
Otherwise, all you would be able to see was whether your surroundings
were light or dark, but no details.

I have the early stages of a cataract in my left eye.  It hasn't
changed in the 2 1/2 years since it was discovered, so the
ophthalmologist says that it isn't time yet to deal with it.  The
result is a slightly-blurry C-shaped arc in the center of my vision
from the left eye.

Cataracts are where the lens IN the eyeball becomes "cloudy" and
prevents light passing through the aqueous humor (the fluid in the
eyeball) to reach the retina (the light-sensitive cells at the back of
the eye). Removal of a cataract involves a small incision and removal of
the clouded lens, and replacement with an artificial alternative. The
lens may be attached to the muscles that previously supported the
original lens, or may be supported on very small surgical steel wire
coils (like springs).

(I am NOT a medical professional - this is just something I "know" from
a friend who had their cataracts removed.)

Cataracts happen when the lens in your eye goes opaque.  You remove
the cataract by removing the lens.  Having removed the natural lens
you need to replace it with another lens.  They use implanted lenses
nowadays.  Not too many years ago you had to wear those thick cataract
glasses.

Bud

Yes, the implant is permanent, because it is a prosthetic
replacement for the eye's natural lens.

Cataracts themselves are incurable - they are a permanent
clouding of the eye's natural lens.  The only treatment is
to remove that lens, and replace it with glasses, contacts,
or an implanted prosthesis.  (The latter is the standard
method nowadays, although there are probably rare conditions
that sometimes make it inadvisable.)

I had assumed the implants were more or less standard, but
my brother did not need them. (He does need glasses for
reading and for driving, now - but not for watching TV or
other daily activities.)  My guess is that the eye's basic
focusing distance (minus the natural lens) can vary.  The
natural lens adjusts for near and far (not always
efficiently, which is why some of us without cataracts
require corrective lenses to see near or far) and the
ability to adjust decreases with age (which is why many
people need reading glasses as the get older).

I am not an ophthalmologist (nor do I play one on TV), but here goes.  A
cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye which, I believe, is
located in the "corneal sac" in the front part of the eyeball.  The
clouding is not a surface defect but rather a through-and-through defect
in the lens.  The muscles of the normal eye contract and expand changing
the shape of the lens, giving one the ability to focus at different
distances.

Cataracts are extracted by cutting a slit in the side of the corneal sac
and pulling the clouded lens out.  That is usually replaced by a plastic
artificial lens (intraocular implant)that focuses to mid-range (or maybe
farther).  The replacement lens is then sewn into place in the corneal
sac and the sac is sutured shut (really fine sutures!).  Unfortunately,
the implant is sufficiently hard that the muscles in the eye can't
change the focus, so after the surgery the patient will need reading
glasses at least, and maybe more correction for distance vision.

For those that can't for whatever reason, have the implants, contact
lenses are usually used to replace the focus adjustment the removed lens
provides.

Please be advised that my experience is old (like me) -- I had mine out
in '85 and '86.  However, that said, after successful surgery, the
patient's sight is way, way better.

Hope this helps,

Sam, whose Mistletoe is away at Catnip Suites while we go on vacation.