Cataract

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At Kugler Vision, our mission is to help people maximize their human experience and see the world with the best vision possible. We are a lifestyle enhancement center committed to empowering our patients with clear vision.

Laser cataract surgery changes our patients’ quality of life. Our goal is to not only remove cataracts but to also reduce the need for visual aids at the same time.

As your eyes mature, they undergo vision changes because of the natural lens continuing to harden and yellow, which is the early stage of cataracts. Everyone is affected, even those who have had vision correction, because it’s a natural part of the aging process. The changes are slow and can often go unnoticed for years. It starts in your 40s, with stage 1 DLS.

As you enter your 40s, you begin to experience the onset of dysfunctional lens syndrome (DLS), when the lens in your eye undergoes a series of gradual changes. We categorize these changes into three stages:

• Stage 1 — This is the beginning of DLS, and what is commonly referred to as presbyopia. In stage 1, the lens of your eye begins to harden and lose its flexibility. This rigidness makes it difficult for you to focus on things up close and is the reason you may start to need reading glasses or bifocals. This stage usually begins in early to mid-40s.

• Stage 2 — With stage 2 DLS, the lens of the eye starts the gradual process of yellowing. This affects the amount of light the lens can filter, which reduces the clarity of your vision, both at a distance and near. Symptoms of stage 2 most often begin in your late 40s to mid-50s.
• Stage 3 — This is what’s known as a cataract. With cataracts, the lens of your eye has become cloudy enough that it is significantly affecting your vision, and treatment is necessary to restore the quality of your sight. Cataracts may occur at any age, but in the United States the average age to get cataract surgery is 73.

When the cataract has progressed to the point that your visual quality is affecting your ability to perform required tasks such as driving, reading, or using a computer, then cataract surgery may be needed. Cataract surgery is one of the safest surgeries performed in all of medicine, and modern technology has made it quick and painless.

It is an exciting time in the field of cataract surgery, as patients have options that were not available just a few years ago. Lance Kugler, MD and all of the refractive surgeons at Kugler Vision perform laser and no-stitch cataract surgery. We use the most advanced cataract equipment available, including the CATALYS™ Precision laser system and LenSx femtosecond laser system, as well as the Alcon Infinity and Centurion phacoemulsification machine, to remove the cataract with ultrasound.

Once the cataract is removed, an Advanced Technology Intraocular Lens (IOL) is folded and inserted through the same micro-incision. The IOL replaces the crystalline lens that was removed and takes over the task of focusing light on the retina, improving the visual quality and reducing your need for glasses and bifocals after surgery.

Kugler Vision is proud to be Omaha’s first CATALYS™ Laser Cataract Surgery center, and the only center in Nebraska offering patients the advantages of not one, but two advanced laser technologies for cataract removal:  the CATALYS and LenSx femtosecond laser systems. With these lasers, Lance Kugler, MD and all of our refractive surgeons are capable of providing previously unforeseen levels of safety, efficiency, and accuracy for Omaha cataract patients.

Kugler Vision is the first ophthalmology practice in Omaha to offer a breakthrough cataract surgery technology that provides LASIK-like visual outcomes to area patients. The WaveTec-ORA System with VerifEye is a revolutionary new way to analyze the eye during premium cataract surgery. ORA allows Kugler Vision to customize treatment for each patient’s eye. 

Learn more about this important cataract technology.