Cataract Surgery at Hospital CMQ Premiere
On the last Friday of every month, the facilities at CMQ Premiere Hospital host a program called CMQ Cataract Surgery day. This program has provided hope and a better quality of life for more than ten years by performing outpatient surgeries concerning one of the biggest ocular problems in our country: cataracts. We receive patients starting the early hours of the day, both locals and foreigners.
“CMQ Cataract Surgery” day aims not only to provide excellent surgical care, but to minimize the cost of the procedure up to 50%, using the latest technology equipment Alcon Constellation Vision System. In the month of June, a total of 18 individual patients were attended by ophthalmologists, Dr. Jaime Aniceto Miramontes, and Dr. Fidel Díaz de León. Both specialists have more than twenty years of experience in the ophthalmological field.
This program consists of three phases:
- Diagnosis: Generated through a complete ophthalmological examination that includes a visual acuity test and an eye pressure test, so that the ophthalmologist can determine if it shows traces of the disease and the degree of progress.
- Surgery: Once the diagnosis has been made, the patient must proceed with the choice of a surgical intervention. This is where our ophthalmologist, Dr. Jaime Miramontes, presents the days the cataract surgeries will take place. The patient is free to decide the month of his or her surgery.
- Postoperative revision: Once the ambulatory surgery is done, the patient returns the following day to the CMQ Premiere Hospital facilities for a follow-up visit that guarantees correct treatment and a guide to postoperative care for optimal recovery.
What Are Cataracts?
Within the eyes, we have a natural lens known as a crystalline. Its function is to refract the light rays that enter the eye to help us see. This crystalline gradually loses transparency, becoming cloudy, and later blurry or opaque. It has been described as looking through a fogged or dusty windshield.
When this happens, the natural lens must be removed and a new artificial lens implanted. It is very common that this wear occurs with age. For this reason, the most affected are those of advanced age. However, we are all prone to suffer from cataracts ahead of time.
Around 40 and 50% of cases of blindness in Mexico are generated by cataracts.
This condition usually appears slowly. As a result, large changes in vision or cataract signs may not be immediately perceive in the early stages of development. Some of its symptoms are:
- Blurred vision
- Bleaching colors
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Double vision
- Glare
What Is the Treatment?
Surgical intervention is the only alternative for this visual problem. Currently, there is no other treatment that curbs the effects of this disease. To have a positive diagnosis of cataracts and still opt out of surgery is a big error.
It is important to clarify that cataract surgery it can’t perform at an early stage. Intervention only takes place when this anomaly is a real obstacle to vision, and as long as the doctor indicates that it is necessary.
What Does Surgical Intervention Happen?
Within this surgery, a procedure known as phacoemulsification (FACO) is performed. It is a technique that begins with a small incision in the edge of the cornea, which breaks the opaque lens and removes it. Afterward, they make a place for an intraocular lens, it will allow the light to pass through the retina and focus properly.
In practical terms, it is a procedure to perform in about 10 minutes and that usually has minimal side effects; after which, patients noticeably improve their quality of vision.
It is worth mentioning that the surgical techniques applied within CMQ Hospitals, as well as the search for patients’ own well-being, have made this monthly cataract day, not only a guarantee for eye improvement, but also a great impact on their quality of life.
