Cataracts: looking through a fogged-up window

With age, the eye’s natural crystalline lens loses transparency, causing a gradual loss of vision

A cataract is the loss of transparency of the crystalline lens, which lies immediately behind the pupil and through which light passes before striking the retina, where images are formed.

The crystalline lens’s loss of transparency causes a gradual loss of vision. It is similar to the effect of condensation on a windowpane. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, because, in developing countries, the condition is not treated, and patients can end up losing their sight. Aging is the most common cause of lens opacity, increased myopia after the age of 50 and loss of confidence when walking or moving about.

Ultrasound surgery is the main surgical technique used for cataracts. The procedure has a high success rate, but, in some cases, certain risks exist.

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