# Cataract: Symptoms, Types and Surgery

Source page: https://www.kudretgozistanbul.com/en/blog/eye-diseases/cataract-symptoms-types-and-surgery

**Author:** Kudret Eye İstanbul | **Medical Approval:** Op. Dr. Mehmet Ali Özdil | **Date:** 2026-09-04

> **Summary:** Cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens, caused by protein gathering in it, that stops light from passing through and causes permanent sight loss if left untreated. Surgery is the only treatment: the clouded lens is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens.

## Quick Facts
- **More common after:** age 55-60
- **Only treatment:** surgery (standard technique: phacoemulsification)
- **Incision size:** 2.2 mm, stitchless
- **Operation duration:** about 15-20 minutes per eye
- **Anaesthesia:** numbing eye drops, light sedation if needed, no general anaesthetic

---

## What Is Cataract?
The lens behind the iris and pupil, which carries light to the retina, loses its transparency and turns cloudy as proteins build up in it. It generally develops with age and causes blurred, double or misty vision, difficulty seeing at night and extreme sensitivity to light.

## Causes and Risk Factors
High blood pressure and diabetes are the most common causes besides age; heavy sunlight exposure is another trigger.
- Age and genetic factors
- Environmental conditions
- Heavy smoking and alcohol consumption
- Diabetes
- Eye injuries and heavy sunlight exposure
- High blood pressure
- Steroids and similar medication (including steroids used to treat uveitis)
- Uveitis
- Radiation used in cancer treatment
- Previous eye surgery
- Genetic conditions such as Down's syndrome, and high myopia, also increase the risk

## Symptoms
Glare and blurred vision are among the most common.
- Needing more light to read
- Blurred vision and sensitivity to light
- A constantly changing prescription
- Reduced vision at distance and near
- Loss of depth perception
- Colours looking faded and yellowish
- Seeing more clearly at near without glasses (no longer needing reading glasses)
- Difficulty driving, reading, recognising faces, telling colours apart and looking at a screen
- Worse night vision, glare as light scatters in the dark
- Headache and eye strain

## Types of Cataract
- **Age-related:** more common after 55-60; diabetes clearly increases the risk.
- **Congenital:** present from birth; can follow an infection the mother had in pregnancy or medication she took, sometimes with no apparent cause.

## Diagnosis
Usually diagnosed when a person attends a check-up with symptoms. If signs are found in the lens, the patient is referred to a specialist ophthalmologist, and routine examinations or symptom-led tests confirm the diagnosis and guide treatment planning.

## Treatment
Surgery is the only treatment: the protein-clouded lens is cleared and a new lens is placed in its position. The standard technique is phacoemulsification: the clouded lens is broken up with ultrasound and removed through a small incision without stitches. Older techniques such as extracapsular cataract extraction are now rarely used.

Main surgical methods:
- Phacoemulsification (phaco)
- Stitchless laser cataract surgery

The most suitable intraocular lens is chosen by the patient's condition and general health; different lens options exist for high astigmatism. In patients who come too late, a white mature cataract forms in the pupil area.

---

## The Treatment Journey

### During Surgery
- Numbing eye drops, light sedation if needed, no general anaesthetic and no pain.
- Stitchless surgery through small incisions of 2.2 mm, about 15-20 minutes per eye.
- Bifocal or trifocal intraocular lenses can be fitted for clear vision at distance and near.

### After Surgery
- Avoid looking directly at sunlight for a few weeks.
- A slight gritty feeling and blurred vision lasting a few hours or days can appear as the anaesthesia wears off; these are temporary.
- After full recovery, vision at distance, near and intermediate ranges is clearer than before.