Ophthalmology

Publication date: 14.08.2019
Ophthalmology

The department of ophthalmology in Damiana Hospital performs cataract removal surgeries using phacoemulsification with lens implantation.

Cataract and its symptoms

Cataract is an eye condition which manifests itself in the progressive clouding of the lens, i.e. one of the optical centres of the eye. The shape of the human lens resembles a small sweet with a diameter of about 8 mm, surrounded by a thin cover - the capsule of the lens. In a healthy eye, both the anterior and the posterior capsules of the lens are transparent, as is the inside of the lens made of proteins. During our life, these proteins grow older, lose their transparency, get harder and change their colour into yellow or grey. The hardening and colour change impair the transmission of light through the lens and is referred to as ‘cataract’.

Does cataract only involve poorer visual acuity?

Cataract may result in visual impairment which has not been present so far or cause existing impairment to deteriorate, e.g. leading to increased near-sightedness (myopia) or reduced far-sightedness (hyperopia) in the case of hard nuclear cataract. Quickly progressing cataract, or the so-called subcapsular opacification, may lead to a very significant loss of vision within 3 months.


What should make us visit an ophthalmologist?

We should visit an ophthalmologist when we notice deterioration in the quality and contrast of vision, worse eyesight despite using the same glasses, difficulties in reading or using computers, or when we experience dazzling while driving in the night.


Who runs the highest risk of developing the disease?

A particularly high-risk group for cataract includes individuals over the age of 55 years, especially patients diagnosed with diabetes, thyroid disease, glaucoma, bronchial asthma, and intra-articular (joint) pathologies, as well as individuals with head and eye injuries, under general anaesthesia or on steroid and psychotropic drugs.


How to prepare for the cataract surgery?

When diagnosed with cataract, the patient should make a qualification appointment with an ophthalmologist who will carry out an ultrasound examination of the eyeballs and specialist tests for calculating the power of the lens to be implanted. This is because a suitable intra-ocular implant replacing the patient’s natural yet clouded lens helps to completely eliminate or reduce the visual impairment - including far-sightedness (hyperopia), near-sightedness (myopia), or regular astigmatism (or the so-called presbyopia) which is the natural consequence of eyesight ageing and requires the application of corrective spectacles.
Immediately before the surgery, the patient is also consulted by an anaesthesiologist who is present throughout the cataract removal surgery.

Contraindications to cataract surgery

Due to the short duration of the surgery and small doses of anaesthesia, there are not many contraindications. Recent myocardial infarction or stroke postpones the date of the surgery by approx. 3-6 months. A significant factor affecting the therapeutic procedure is also the detection of early forms of wet macular degeneration and other retinal diseases, e.g. retinal detachment.

Qualification for the cataract surgery in Damiana Hospital - step by step

  1. Schedule your qualification appointment with lek. med. Magdalena Hałasa;
  2. Take your medical records with you for the qualification appointment;
  3. During the qualification appointment, the physician will give you the guidelines concerning further medical steps to be taken;
  4. The cataract removal surgery is conducted by lek. med. Agata Bełżecka.

Cataract surgery - price

The cataract removal surgery is conducted by Doctor Agata Bełżecka. Now, you can have the cataract surgery at Damiana Hospital at a new, attractive price of PLN 3,600 per eye.
The price of a surgery includes:

  • the procedure itself;
  • anaesthesia;
  • stay in the day ward;
  • two post-operative consultations.

The price does not include the lens which is chosen after consultation with a physician. The lens prices start from PLN 595.