Cataract Procedures

Phacoemulsification is the name for conventional cataract surgery. Your eye surgeon creates a small incision in your cornea by hand with a blade. A small instrument in then inserted through this opening. It goes behind your pupil where the eye’s lens sits in a capsule. Your eye surgeon creates a round opening in the capsule and inserts a pen-shaped probe through the opening.

The probe applies sound waves (ultrasound) to break up the cloudy lens and the broken pieces are sucked out before an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) is placed. The wound is usually self-sealing and stiches are not needed.

The FDA-approved LenSx® laser system is based on the same femtosecond technology used during bladeless LASIK procedures. The system uses integrated optical coherence tomography (OCT) which captures precise, hi-res images of the patient’s eyes. It gives the eye surgeon image–guided control and the ability to plan and customize each procedure to the unique characteristics of the patient’s eye.

The femtosecond laser has replaced many of the steps in the cataract surgery that were previously performed by human hands, i.e., resulting in less surgical error and better predictability of outcomes. Results are more precise than any other previous or current methods of cataract surgery.

At the Mt Elizabeth Hospital, Dr Leo Seo Wei uses the femtosecond laser to make the corneal incisions, create a perfect size capsulotomy and break apart the cloudy cataract lens. She is one of the few eye specialists in Singapore doing bladeless cataract surgery.

Note - Bladeless cataract surgery is suitable for most people except those with specific cornea disease, glaucoma, poorly dilating pupils or those who cannot tolerate the suction used to stabilise the eye