By David L. Podos
Each year millions of cataract surgeries are performed in the United States. As we get older proteins build up in the lens of the eye causing a reduction of light to pass through, thus diminishing our eyesight.
Replacing the lens of the eye through surgery is the way to correct that problem.
Recently I was added to those surgery statistics.
After listening to my ophthalmologist late last year saying, “David, your cataract in your right eye is ready to be removed,” my anxiety index went through the roof even though I had no leg to stand on in refuting his assessment.
My far distance vision in that eye was diminishing and as the months rolled by it worsened. My cataract was not only affecting my ability to see during the day, but affecting my night driving as well. Oncoming headlights from passing cars cast a strange halo distorting my vision even further.
I knew surgery was inevitable.
I remember people who had had cataract surgery years ago talk about how their doctor would mention the cataract was “ripe” and it was time to remove it. After hearing that I would think to myself, “ripe, well that’s an odd definition — what does that actually mean?”
The fact is, eye surgeons would refer to the patient’s cataract years ago as ripe when the procedure was riskier. They wanted the cataract to be large before removal, meaning it was “ripe.” Today, however, with advanced medical technology along with increased skills of the surgeon, that term is no longer valid. Whether you’re having the procedure done in a local clinic or opting for private cataract surgery London, the focus now is on early intervention and maximizing patient comfort. Even so, thoughts of having a doctor (no matter how skilled) poking around in my eye left me feeling very uncomfortable and I am not alone when it comes to these feelings.
In an article written by Gabrielle Weiner called “Reducing Patient Anxiety During Surgery,” she mentions that there are two common fears patients have about cataract surgery. “First, will they be receiving insufficient anesthesia. Secondly, will they see the surgeon or surgical instruments coming at the eye?”
Of course, there are a number of other fears patients may experience such as, will the surgery be painful, fear of surgical complications and fear of vision loss, (oddly enough) as the whole idea of removing the cataract in the first place is to restore a patient’s vision.
Some people have such an aversion to any surgical procedure they completely avoid it, this is called tomophobia. Fortunately, I do not suffer from tomophobia, yet, I needed reassurance (and plenty of it) from my ophthalmologist that everything would go well. I explained to him I never had been in an operating room and only once in my life when I was 18, I was administered anesthesia to remove my back molars which was done in the dentist office.
While I cannot speak for other eye surgeons, Alexander Harris at Slocum Dickson Medical Group, who is my ophthalmologist, came through with flying colors.
He understood my anxious state and well before the surgery date was set (during routine scheduled eye exams) he took the extra time to assure me that the procedure was safe, listened to my concerns, answered my questions and said I would be just fine. This kind of communication between doctor and patient is crucial and just as important as the doctor’s skill level. Trusting my doctor and knowing about what to expect made a huge difference for me, as well as gaining self confidence that I would be OK.
At the Griffiss Surgery Center in Rome, where the surgery was to take place, I was led to the pre-op room. Each patient had their own cubicle where the pre-op staff began attending to their specific duties, attaching me to the heart monitor, checking blood pressure, administering the numbing drops to my eye and inserting an IV into my arm.
When I was taken into the operating room the first thing I noticed was how cool it was. I came to find out that cooler temperatures in the OR are for the comfort of the surgeon and the OR staff. Apparently, it can get quite warm for a surgeon and assistants who are completely gowned up working under the OR lights.
Once again staff worked seamlessly to reattach me to the OR heart monitor, secure a blood pressure cuff and give me oxygen. I have to say I think my blood pressure was heading straight through the roof at that moment and my initial thought was, “well David, if you are planning on jumping off this OR bed you better do it now.” It was then that the nurse anesthetist came over and asked how I was doing. I mumbled something like, “OK but I can think of a number of places I rather be than here.” She laughed and said, “in a few seconds you won’t have a care in the world.” I smiled and said, “you are my new best friend.”
True to her word within seconds after administrating the anesthesia into my IV, I was totally relaxed. My doctor came into the OR and said, “what eye are we working on today, David?” I said, “my right eye, doc.” We both laughed. That was it, except for seeing a bright light I really don’t have any recollection of anything else, just being wheeled out of the OR back to the pre-op room. The total time of the surgery was less than 10 minutes!
When I saw my doctor the next day and the shield covering my eye was removed, I was astounded how much clearer my vision was, less than 24 hours after surgery.
So, if you’re thinking about cataract surgery, go for it. What a blessing it is to see clearly.