Cataract Surgery in Las Vegas
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cataracts or if your vision is just not up to par and you are noticing trouble with the fine print, halos, glare, trouble driving in the bright light or at night or reading the captions on the TV, we can help.
WHAT IS A CATARACT?
A cataract is a visually significant clouding of the natural lens of the eye. In youth the lens is responsible for focusing at near. Throughout life the lens has a static power to allow clear vision in the distance. If the lens is too strong or not strong enough or not spherical you will be farsighted, nearsighted or have astigmatism.
WHAT CAUSES CATARACTS?
With ageing or steroid use or trauma or diabetes, the lens can cloud. When the lens is no longer transparent, a patient will experience blur, halos, glare, trouble with driving in the bright sun or at night. With progression of the cataract functional impairment gets worse and worse. When you are no longer able to perform your needed activities, it may be time for cataract surgery. We offer FREE cataract screening exams for those that cannot afford a complete exam. Generally your insurance will cover the evaluation and treatment of cataracts.
There are thousands of cataract surgeries done every year in Las Vegas. The typical patient is elderly but with steroid use (for asthma or autoimmune diseases or even poison ivy) a posterior subcapsular cataract can form. Cortical cataracts are often associated with diabetes. Nuclear cataracts result in hardening and yellowing of the central portion of the lens sometimes creating “second sight” (improved near vision in a patient with presbyopia).
CATARACT TREATMENT
Although there are reports that cataracts can be treated with eye drops, this has never been proven and the mainstay of treatment includes glasses in the early changes and when glasses no longer achieve acceptable vision, a brief outpatient surgery is performed.
CATARACT SURGERY
Although there are multiple techniques for cataract surgery, laser cataract surgery is getting more popular. Many patients thought cataract surgery was always done with a laser. The truth is that if there is a secondary cataract it can be treated with a laser. The newer methods employ a laser to assist with the incisions, astigmatism correction and softening of the cataractous lens. Tried and true methods are highly successful in trained and experienced hands. This technique uses instruments, blades and ultrasount. Small self sealing incisions are created with specially designed blades and the lens is vaporized with ultrasound to allow removal from an incision that is less than 3mm large!
IMPLANT OPTIONS
Whenever something is removed (the cataract) it must be replaced for optimal visual rehabilitation. There are hundreds of styles of intraocular lens implants but there are three general categories
- Monofocal
- Multifocal
- Accomodating
The monofocal lens allows clear vision at only one distance and glasses are generally required for fine-tuning. The goal of the Technis Multifocal and Restor Multifocal lenses is to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses. In our hands, we prefer the Technis Multifocal Intraocular Lens Implant. Some patients cannot afford the additional expense of presbyopia correction with the Technis Multifocal Lens as this expense is not covered by health insurance.
COST OF CATARACT SURGERY
When medically necessary, cataract surgery is covered by medical insurance. With medicare and a supplement, the out of pocket expense is nominal unless the patient elects to upgrade to a premium, lifestyle lens implant. In addition to the professional fee (surgeon’s fee) for cataract surgery, there is a facility fee (generally an ambulatory surgery center) and anesthesia fee. If you are on a budget or tuned into the cost of health care, you can minimize the expenses to you or your insurance company by picking a doctor who participates with your insurance company and a center that does as well. The fees have been pre-negotiated and can be 1/10 of the fees for a hospital or surgery center that is owned by a hospital. We do virtually all our cataract surgeries at Red Rock Surgery Center, in Las Vegas. Red Rock Surgery Center participates with most insurance plans and is privately owned and offers advanced, lifestyle implants. The anesthesia services are often unnecessary and you can save by asking your surgeon to provide these services with the aid of trained nurses. Dr. Malitz is an expert at vision-correcting cataract surgery with over 30 years of experience using the no-stitch, no-patch, no-needle technique of phacoemulsification. If you have no insurance, we have a special price of $4000 for a standard implant and $5000 for a lifestyle implant. (must take a picture of this page or print out to be eligable). If you are on an extreme budget we have other programs to help. Email us for details (helpforcataractsurgery@lasikhomepage.com ) We accept most insurance plans except Senior Dimensions HMO.
Ask us about our advanced solutions to reduce or eliminate your need for glasses after cataract surgery!
Just call for an appointment, 702-368-2010!