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Cataracts may interfere with
your vision, but delaying surgery does
not normally cause other permanent damage.
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Delayed Cataract Surgery and Blindness
If you have cataracts and delay surgery
you may suffer from limited vision, but you are not exactly "going
blind".
A cataract means the natural lens within
the eye has become cloudy. The cloudy lens blocks light from
reaching the retina inside the eye and being "seen".
Think of a cataract as placing a frosted
glass in front of your eye. Vision through that frosted
glass is poor, but the eye's ability to see remains. Remove
the frosted glass and vision is again clear. Cataract
surgery is like removing the frosted glass.
Cataracts blocking light entering the eye reduces vision clarity
and can limit vision to the point of disability, however the
remaining components of the eye that produce vision are not
commonly damaged by the presence of a cataract. Most adults will
progressively lose the ability to see by delaying cataract
surgery, however will not suffer permanent damage by the
delay. While vision limitations due to
cataracts can be severe, those limitations are almost always
resolved when the surgery is performed.
On rare occasions other conditions may make cataract
surgery more urgent, however many adults with cataracts do
not need to rush into surgery.
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