Cataract Surgery in Newtown Square, PA

Why Newtown Square Patients Choose Mudgil for Cataract Surgery

Understanding Cataracts

A cataract is a clouding of your eye's natural lens. The lens is normally clear and focuses light onto the retina, but over time the proteins inside it break down and clump together. Vision turns blurry, colors look faded, and glare or halos around lights make night driving harder. Cataracts develop slowly as a normal part of aging, which is why most Newtown Square patients who need surgery are in their 60s, 70s, and beyond.

The three main types

• Nuclear cataracts form in the center of the lens and are the most common age-related type. They can briefly improve near vision before clouding it.
• Cortical cataracts begin at the edges of the lens as whitish wedges and work inward, often causing glare.
• Posterior subcapsular cataracts form at the back of the lens, progress faster, and tend to affect reading and bright-light vision first. They are more common in people with diabetes or who have used steroids.

What causes cataracts

Aging is the leading cause, but several factors can speed them along: diabetes, eye injury, long-term steroid use, significant lifetime sun exposure, smoking, and a family history of cataracts.

Common symptoms

Blurry or cloudy vision, faded or yellowed colors, increasing trouble with night driving, glare and halos around lights, frequent changes to your glasses prescription, and needing brighter light to read. If these sound familiar, an exam can tell you whether a cataract is the cause.

Cataract Surgery, Step by Step

1. Consultation and measurements. Dr. Mudgil examines your eyes and takes precise measurements to choose the right lens power for you.
2. Preparing for surgery. Starting two days before, you use any prescribed drops and gently clean your lashes with a little baby shampoo. If you choose dropless surgery, you skip the drop regimen entirely.
3. The day of surgery. Your procedure is performed at the Christiana Care Surgery Center at Brinton Lake in Glen Mills or at Turks Head Surgery Center in West Chester, about 20 minutes from Newtown Square. Your eye is numbed and you are given light sedation, so you stay relaxed and comfortable.
4. The procedure. Through a tiny, self-sealing incision, Dr. Mudgil gently removes the clouded lens and places your chosen intraocular lens. It usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes and rarely needs stitches.
5. The dropless advantage. Dr. Mudgil is the only surgeon in the area offering dropless cataract surgery, placing the medication inside the eye during surgery so you can skip the weeks-long, several-times-a-day eye-drop routine.
6. Recovery. You rest briefly and go home the same day with a driver. You are seen the next day and again at about one month.

Recovery and What to Expect

Most patients are back to everyday activities within a day or two, with vision sharpening over a few weeks as the eye settles. Avoid eye makeup for about a week and swimming pools, hot tubs, and open water for about four weeks. Because of the sedation and dilating drops, you will need a ride on surgery day and to your next-day visit. Dr. Mudgil will give you the exact timeline for your eyes.

Your Lens Options

Monofocal (standard)

Clear, dependable vision at one distance, usually far, with reading glasses for up close. Covered by Medicare and most insurance.

Toric (for astigmatism)

Corrects astigmatism so an irregular cornea no longer blurs your vision near and far.

Extended depth of focus

A continuous range of vision from far to intermediate, reducing your reliance on glasses for everyday tasks.

Multifocal and trifocal (for presbyopia)

Designed to give near, intermediate, and distance vision for the most freedom from glasses.

Which lens is right depends on your eyes and your goals, and Dr. Mudgil will help you choose. Standard monofocal lenses are covered by Medicare and most insurance; premium lenses involve an additional out-of-pocket cost.