What Is a Cataract?
The natural lens inside your eye is normally clear, allowing light to pass through and focus sharply on the retina at the back of the eye. A cataract is a gradual clouding of this natural lens. As the lens becomes more opaque over time, the amount of light reaching the retina decreases — and vision becomes progressively blurry, hazy, or dim.
Cataracts are the leading cause of treatable blindness in India. At Dr. Ramesh Superspeciality Eye & Laser Centre in Ludhiana, cataract surgery is the most commonly performed procedure — with our Founder and Chief Surgeon Dr. Ramesh Chand having personally performed over 100,000 cataract surgeries across his career.
How Does a Cataract Develop?
Cataracts most commonly develop with age — the proteins that make up the natural lens gradually break down and clump together, forming cloudy patches. This process typically begins after the age of 50, though the speed at which a cataract progresses varies greatly from person to person.
Age is the most common cause, but cataracts can also develop due to:
• Sun exposure: Prolonged, unprotected exposure to UV sunlight
• Diabetes: Uncontrolled diabetes — high blood sugar accelerates lens protein damage
• Steroid use: Long-term use of steroid medications
• Eye trauma or surgery: A previous eye injury or eye surgery
• Medical conditions: Certain systemic conditions such as hypothyroidism
• Congenital cataract: Rarely, cataracts may be present from birth (congenital cataract)
What Are the Symptoms of a Cataract?
Cataracts develop slowly and painlessly, which means many patients are unaware of how much their vision has deteriorated. Common symptoms include:
• Blurred, hazy, or misty vision that does not improve with a change of glasses
• Increased glare — bright lights such as sunlight or headlights at night appear dazzling or uncomfortable
• Seeing halos around lights, particularly at night
• Colours appearing faded or washed out, particularly blues and purples
• Frequent changes in your glasses prescription
• Difficulty reading in low light
• A feeling that your glasses are dirty even when they are clean
One sign that often surprises patients is what is called ‘second sight’ — a temporary improvement in near vision as the cataract develops, meaning reading glasses may suddenly feel less necessary. This improvement does not last.
The Old Myth — ‘Wait Until It Is Ripe’
Many patients, particularly in older generations, have been told that a cataract must be ‘fully ripe’ or ‘mature’ before it can be removed. This is a myth that belongs to an earlier era of eye surgery, when the techniques used required the cataract to be at an advanced stage.
With modern phacoemulsification surgery — the technique used at Dr. Ramesh Superspeciality Eye & Laser Centre — a cataract can be safely and effectively removed at any stage of its development. In fact, waiting for a cataract to become very advanced (a ‘hypermature’ cataract) makes the surgery more complex and increases the risk of complications. There is no benefit to waiting once the cataract is affecting your quality of life.
So When Is the Right Time to Have Cataract Surgery?
The right time for cataract surgery is when the cataract is affecting your daily life. This is a decision that depends on the individual patient — not on a specific level of vision or a specific appearance of the cataract on examination.
You should consider a consultation for cataract surgery when:
• Your vision is blurred enough to affect activities such as driving, reading, watching television, or working
• Glare from lights is making it difficult or unsafe to drive, particularly at night
• You cannot achieve adequate vision with your current glasses prescription
• Your reduced vision is affecting your independence, confidence, or quality of life
On the other hand, if your cataract is mild and your vision is still good enough for all your daily activities, surgery can safely be deferred — with regular monitoring to track the cataract’s progression.
What Does Cataract Surgery Involve?
At Dr. Ramesh Superspeciality Eye & Laser Centre, cataract surgery is performed using phacoemulsification — a microsurgical technique in which a small ultrasound probe is used to break up and remove the cloudy natural lens through a tiny incision. An artificial intraocular lens (IOL) is then placed in the same position to restore clear vision.
The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia — meaning you are awake but your eye is completely numb and you feel no pain. It typically takes 15 to 20 minutes per eye, and most patients return home on the same day. The majority of patients notice a significant improvement in vision within 24 to 48 hours of surgery.
Choosing the Right Lens — Standard or Premium IOL?
When the natural lens is removed, it is replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). The type of lens chosen has a significant effect on vision after surgery:
• Standard IOL: Standard monofocal IOL: Corrects vision at one distance — typically distance vision. Reading glasses will still be needed for near tasks.
• Toric IOL: Toric IOL: Corrects astigmatism as well as distance vision, reducing dependence on glasses for patients with a cylindrical prescription.
• Premium IOL: Multifocal or extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) IOL: Provides vision at both distance and near, significantly reducing or eliminating the need for glasses after surgery.
At Dr. Ramesh Eye Centre, Dr. Akarshan Mehta — our Phaco-Refractive Surgeon — specialises in premium IOL implantation and will advise you on the most suitable lens option based on your lifestyle, occupation, visual requirements, and eye anatomy.
Is Cataract Surgery Safe?
Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most commonly performed surgical procedures in the world. At Dr. Ramesh Superspeciality Eye & Laser Centre, Dr. Ramesh Chand has performed over 1,00,000 cataract surgeries. The vast majority of patients achieve significantly improved vision after surgery with minimal risk.
As with all surgical procedures, cataract surgery carries a small risk of complications — including infection, inflammation, or, rarely, a condition called posterior capsule opacification (PCO), which causes blurring to return months or years after surgery. PCO is easily treated in the clinic with a simple laser procedure called YAG laser capsulotomy.
