THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601050151
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mr. Roberts' Neighborhood
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
IT'S A NICE, sunny day. Drving merrily along,
you spot a child about a mile up the road.
Or is it a fireplug? No, it's a dog.
Then you get to it: a bush.
Scary, huh? It's enough to drive you to the eye doctor - or should be, anyway.
Chances are, cataracts will be mentioned, followed by talk of surgery. But no need to shiver like a wet puppy. Take my experienced word for it, cataract surgery is quick and painless, and I'm again able to tell a child from a bush.
Visual confusion problems - that means light is not passing through your eyes properly, so you are unable to focus clearly - are not uncommon. Nor are corrective surgeries.
Nationally, there are about a million operations a year, said Dr. Andrew J. O'Dwyer, a Suffolk ophthalmologist. Locally, there are about 400, he said.
Aging is the most common cause of cataracts, with nearly everyone over the age of 60 having some degree of cataract formation, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Other causes include intraocular diseases, trauma and drugs.
When the problem is serious enough, surgery is in order. When my mother had surgery in both eyes about 30 years ago, she had to stay in a darkened hospital room about three weeks, lying stiffly on her back, sandbags on both sides of her face to keep her head still. Now, it's outpatient surgery under local anasthesia.
I remember hearing conversation, even some light banter, but feeling nothing during the operation.
In extreme cases, of course, hospitalization may be necessary.
Normally, intraocular lenses are implanted to provide the focusing power necessary after removal of the cataractous lens, according to the academy, which calls the surgery ``a very safe procedure with successful return of useful vision in over 90 percent of patients.''
I'm glad to be in that percentile after operations on both eyes. My right eye still aggravates me, but there is no vision problem. Fuzzy, black spots that seem to live in front of my eyes will disappear eventually, according to O'Dwyer.
A problem with cataracts is that, unless something is done, your vision worsens. Driving becomes dangerous, watching television a chore and reading difficult.
If you think you have a problem, let your ophthalmologist take a look at how you're taking a look. It worked for me. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Dr. Andrew J. O'Dwyer says about 400 locals a year have cataract
surgery.
by CNB