Cataract Surgery Specialist
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Randal Pham, MD, MS, FACS
Plastic Surgeon & Ophthalmologist located in San Jose, CA
If glare and cloudy vision are affecting your normal activities, you may need cataract surgery with Randal Pham, MD, MS, FACS in San Jose, California. Cataract surgery improves your vision so you can resume night driving and other activities affected by poor eyesight. Dr. Pham is the first surgeon in the U.S. to implant the PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens, the first advanced lens available in the U.S. that enhance your vision for clear, complete focus at distance, intermediate and near vision without blurry zones. You will experience brighter, vivid colors and permanently reduce your need to wear glasses. Find out if cataract surgery is an option for you by calling the practice or scheduling a consultation online.
Cataract Surgery Q&A
What is cataract surgery?
A cataract causes your lens to become cloudy, affecting your vision and increasing the glare from lights. Surgery treats cataracts by replacing your lens with an artificial lens. Cataract surgery is very common and performed on an outpatient basis by an ophthalmologist, like Randal Pham, MD, MS, FACS.
Who should get cataract surgery?
If your cataracts affect your vision to the point of making it difficult to perform your daily activities, your doctor may recommend cataract surgery. If cataracts interfere with your doctor’s ability to treat another eye problem, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, your doctor may recommend cataract surgery to remove the cloudy lens so he or she can see the back of your eye.
What are the risks of cataract surgery?
The risks and complications of cataract surgery are extremely uncommon, but if you experience side effects, most are easily treated. Side effects and risks of cataract surgery include:
- Inflammation or swelling
- Infection
- Drooping eyelid
- Glaucoma
- Dislocation of artificial lens
- Reduced vision
- Retinal detachment
- Secondary cataract
Cataract surgeries are among the most common surgeries performed in the United States, delivering a 98% success rate of improved vision if no other eye conditions are present. If you have another eye disease or medical condition in addition to cataracts, your risk of cataract surgery complications increase. Before deciding if cataract surgery is an option for you, Dr. Pham evaluates your health and eyes to see if glaucoma or macular degeneration is present as both conditions may result in an unsuccessful cataract surgery. It’s recommended to treat other eye conditions before considering cataract surgery.
How is cataract surgery performed?
Dr. Pham makes two tiny incisions in your cornea, the transparent tissue covering the front of your eye. A thick, sticky material, called viscous material, made from substances occurring naturally in the body, is injected into the eye to help maintain eye shape during cataract surgery. Next, your surgeon creates an opening in the lens capsule that holds your lens in place to separate the lens from the capsule and allow the lens to move. An ultrasound device breaks the lens into smaller pieces, which are then vacuumed out. When the lens is removed, more of the viscous material is injected into the eye to make room for the artificial lens, which is inserted into the lens capsule. The viscous material is removed and the tiny incisions self-heal without stitches.
How long is the recovery time after cataract surgery?
The recovery time for cataract surgery varies from one patient to the next. You may see well one day after cataract surgery, or it may take a few days to a month before you experience full vision improvement.
Learn more about cataract surgery and find out if you are a candidate by calling Dr. Pham or using the online scheduling tool to book a consultation.
Our Center
Our Center is the first in California to offer the Catalys femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery. This laser is a state-of-the-art technology built with advanced 3D imaging, sophisticated proven software and hardware and other unique features that deliver a precise, customized procedure with enhanced patient comfort. The Catalys allows surgeons to create perfectly sized, shaped and centered circular incision to access, break up and remove cataracts. This precise and accurate incision provides the exact placement of intraocular lens in the intended position.
Dr. Pham also invented a patented laser procedure that increases the safety of the Catalys femtosecond laser and allows the seamless implantation of advanced intraocular lenses.
Dr. Pham is the first surgeon in the San Francisco Bay Area to successfully implement the use of the femtosecond laser, wavefront refractive analysis technologies and the combined applications of monofocal and multifocal intraocular lenses in cataract and refractive surgery.
Our Center is the first and only center in California approved by the American Society for Lasers in Medicine and Surgery to provide laser aesthetic and eye technology trainings.