YAG Laser Capsulotomy: An Overview

As people age, the body tends to weaken along with its functionality. It gradually gets fragile bones, weak muscles, loss of hearing, and impaired eyesight. Now, let’s focus on the windows to the soul—the eyes. Most elderly people develop cataracts because of the natural and normal changes in the eyes as they get older. With the advancement of technology, we already have the YAG laser capsulotomy to help with this condition, along with other procedures.

What Is YAG Laser Capsulotomy?

YAG laser capsulotomy is a medical procedure carried out to help patients see clearly after they have cataract surgery. While YAG laser capsulotomy isn’t necessarily the procedure for cataracts that removes the cloud lens, it helps patients who have cloudy/blurred vision or those who see glare/flare around lights.

In case you’re wondering, YAG means yttrium aluminium garnet. It is the crystal inside the laser that is used for the surgery.

Why Is There a Need for YAG Laser Capsulotomy?

As you may have known, cataract surgeries remove the clouded lens from the eyes and replace them with an artificial and clear one. Now, a few months or years after the cataract surgery, the patient may have a fuzzy vision once again. Its primary reason is that the posterior capsule—a membrane in the eye—gets cloudy because a layer of scar forms beneath the implant. We refer to this condition as PCO or posterior capsule opacity.

With this condition, patients may have blurry or double vision or issues when looking at light. That is why people who have undergone cataract surgery needs YAG laser capsulotomy to get sharper eyesight.

The YAG Laser Capsulotomy Procedure

This medical procedure isn’t quite invasive as it uses laser and not other instrumentation to access the eye. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about feeling any pain during the surgery.

Before the doctor begins with the procedure, they may require you to get eye drops or medicine to lessen the pressure and discomfort you may feel. Furthermore, there may also give you anaesthetic eyedrops that helps keep the eyelids open, and the laser beam focused on the treatment area.

During the surgery, the doctor will create an opening in your eye’s posterior capsule using the YAG laser. This opening will then serve as the way for the light to pass through the clouded capsule until it reaches your retina.

Don’t get nervous when you feel blind or dazzled right after the procedure. It’s a normal reaction after your eyes are exposed to the bright light from the laser. Gradually, your vision will improve after the dilating drops wear off.

Don’t forget to have a follow-up appointment.

Why Do You Still See “Floaters” Even After the Surgery?

Floaters are those tiny lines or specks you see floating that will mildly interfere with your vision. However, these are not something to worry about because they don’t bring harm to your eyes, although they’re quite annoying.

Most patients who undergo YAG laser capsulotomy experience more floaters than they ever did before mainly because of the small capsule pieces that floats around their eyes. It is common for those who have the surgery to see floaters. Nevertheless, the specks and lines slowly decrease after a few weeks.

Importance of YAG Laser Capsulotomy

Some patients ask why they need this medical procedure when they have already undergone successful cataract surgery.

While YAG laser capsulotomy is just a supplementary procedure, it prevents the capsule from getting thicker and impairing your vision once more. Through this, you won’t experience haziness in your eyes or have cloudy/blurred vision. For this reason, doctors highly recommend patients to have this surgery.

But when can you determine that you need this type of surgery? You must check the symptoms of posterior capsular opacity/opacification, which includes the following:

• Your eyes are losing focus when you read, including road signs.
• Your vision starts to go blurry as months pass by.
• Your see fogs or films.
• Your see glare, especially at night when street lights and car lights are brighter.
• There are halos around most lights

Assess your vision. If you notice that you have these symptoms, consult an expert and start planning for your YAG laser capsulotomy.

Continue to See the World Perfectly with Sussex Eye Laser Clinic

Our eyes play an essential role in our lives. It allows us to see the light in times of darkness, literally. That is why we have to take care of it and strive to maintain good eyesight no matter how old we get. But sometimes, eye problems are inevitable, especially when we have them since we were young or when we get older.

And that’s what we’re here for! Sussex Eye Laser clinic will help you have sharp eyesight, be it through cataract surgery, YAG capsulotomy, refractive lens exchange, corneal transplants, or other medical procedures! Call us for more details.