Cataract Specialist

Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. -  - Ophthalmologist

Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A.

Ophthalmologists & Aesthetics located in Manahawkin, NJ & Forked River, NJ

Cataracts tend to develop as you age, causing a gradual blurring of your vision. The team of eye health specialists at Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A., in Manahawkin and Forked River, New Jersey, has specialist expertise in replacing lenses affected by cataracts with artificial intraocular lenses, restoring your sight in a straightforward outpatient procedure. Find out more by calling Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. today, or book an appointment online.

Cataract Q & A

What are cataracts?

Cataracts are a problem that typically affect people over the age of 60, causing clouded vision. They develop when the lens in your eye suffers age-related degeneration.

The lens is the part of your eye that focuses light. Your lenses enable you to see properly, but over time the proteins inside the lens deteriorate, affecting the lens’ ability to focus light.

You can develop cataracts in one or both eyes.

What are the symptoms of cataracts?

In the early stages, cataracts don’t cause any noticeable symptoms. As the condition progresses, however, you might experience:

  • Blurred vision
  • Double vision
  • Colors looking dull
  • Yellow tint to your vision
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Problems seeing at night

As soon as you notice any of these symptoms, you should visit Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. for a checkup.

What causes cataracts?

Cataracts are most often related to the aging process. The risk of developing cataracts increases if you:

  • Have ever had an eye injury
  • Have family members with cataracts
  • Have spent a lot of time in the sun
  • Have diabetes

Cataracts tend to affect older people, usually starting to form when you’re in your forties but not typically causing any symptoms until you reach your sixties. However, cataracts can affect younger people as well, most often when they have a condition like diabetes that causes a variety of complications.

What treatments are there for cataracts?

Cataract treatment involves replacing your affected lens with an artificial one called an intraocular lens (IOL). The team at Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. uses PanOptix® IOLs, to give you the most natural vision possible.

Your provider performs your cataract surgery on an outpatient basis. You don’t need to be asleep for the procedure, so you won't have a general anesthetic. Your provider gives you a local anesthetic to numb your eye, then removes your lens using just a few small incisions and no stitches.

They replace your lens with the IOL. Your provider at Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. can also perform minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) in conjunction with cataract surgery to improve glaucoma management.

Pressure buildup inside the eye is a key risk factor in glaucoma, a serious eye condition that can lead to loss of sight. Your provider might recommend implanting the iStent inject®, a tiny device that reduces the pressure inside your eye, helping to improve your glaucoma and minimize the need for medication.

If you have any problems with your vision, call Southern Shores Eye Center, P.A. today, or book an appointment online.