Monday, August 26, 2013

Air Travel & Flying after Cataract Surgery

“Air travel or flying after cataract surgery really doesn’t have to pose too much concern for patients considering a cataract operation in the near future,” stated Leslie Doctor, M.D., a Fairfield County Cataract Surgeon with offices in Norwalk, Wilton & Westport, CT. “Cataract patients today lead very active lifestyles that often includes air travel to visit friends and family. Flying after cataract surgery is relatively common as they need to get on an airplane or take advantage of air travel arrangements after cataract surgery and don’t want to be restricted.”

Most cataract surgeons require their patients to be examined the first day after cataract surgery and again at about 5-8 days after a cataract operation. This is the period of time where rare, but potentially serious, complications would likely be detected, if they were to occur. Beyond this period of time it is more a matter of making sure that you have access to continued follow up care at your cataract surgeon’s direction. If you are contemplating a trip after your cataract surgery you should discuss air travel and flying with your cataract surgeon and they can give you any additional advice you might need regarding air travel as it would apply to your post operative instructions.

If you or someone you know has questions or concerns about cataract surgery, air travel and flying please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates is a leading Fairfield County Connecticut eye care practice with offices at
129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851, providing eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, diagnosis and management of diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses and optical services. For those patients in need of eye surgery, as a founding member of the Wilton Surgery Center, Doctor & Associates eye surgeons are able to provide eye surgery in a convenient, close to home and cost effective ambulatory surgery center.

Whatever your eye care, eye health or vision correction needs might be-Doctor & Associates can serve as a Connecticut ophthalmic consultant and will be conveniently located for patients from Fairfield County and southern Connecticut including Danbury, Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Weston, Wilton, New Canaan, Norwalk, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Cannondale, Aspetuck, Redding, Trumbull, Shelton, Monroe, Darien, Glenbrook and Ridgefield Connecticut.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Driving Safety in Connecticut after Cataract Surgery

Connecticut eye surgeon Leslie Doctor, M.D. offered some insight into driving safety after cataract surgery and particularly with regard to differences between men and women. “Researchers reported on a study in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology looking at driving safety after cataract surgery. They found that motor vehicle accidents involving men decreased by 15.3% in the 12 months following cataract surgery but the frequency of postoperative crashes didn't change significantly for women,” noted Dr. Doctor, a Corneal Specialist & Connecticut Cataract Surgeon in Fairfield County. “We know all too well that delaying cataract surgery often results in patients modifying their lifestyles and activities. This is especially the case as people restrict their driving in response to health and vision changes. We need to hear from patients about their driving habits and whether they have had to change them as their cataracts develop-then we can help,” said Dr. Doctor.

If you or someone you know has a question about cataracts, cataract surgery, lens implants or driving safety please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates is a leading Fairfield County Connecticut eye care practice providing eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, diagnosis and management of diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses and optical services. For those patients in need of eye surgery, as a founding member of the Wilton Surgery Center, Doctor & Associates eye surgeons are able to provide eye surgery in a convenient, close to home and cost effective ambulatory surgery center.

Whatever your eye care, eye health or vision correction needs might be-Doctor & Associates can serve as a Connecticut ophthalmic consultant and will be conveniently located for patients from Fairfield County and southern Connecticut including Danbury, Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Weston, Wilton, New Canaan, Norwalk, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Cannondale, Aspetuck, Redding, Trumbull, Shelton, Monroe, Darien, Glenbrook and Ridgefield Connecticut.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Cataract Surgery: Can I Wait Too Long?

“Dr. Leslie-what happens if I wait too long to have my cataract surgery. Is it a problem?” ask some patients of Connecticut Cataract Surgeon Leslie Doctor, M.D. She shared some thoughts about patient concerns regarding waiting too long to have cataract surgery and lens implants. “The decision of when to have a cataract removed and replaced with lens implants is really a very personal decision,” said Dr. Doctor. “Some patients are simply not comfortable with the slightest degree of blurry vision or glare sensitivity, whereas others surprise me with how tolerant they are. So, I generally tell patients that their cataracts should be removed when they feel that they have visual discomfort or inconvenience-or any safety issues with navigating each day’s activities with confidence,” Dr Doctor explained. 

What patients should know though is that waiting too long for cataract surgery can result is some unintended consequences and possible risks. “As a cataract matures, it does become denser and somewhat more difficult to remove. This requires more energy from the instruments and techniques we use and may lead to prolonged inflammation or even intraoperative complications,” stated Dr. Doctor. “For certain we don’t want the cataract to become so dense, swollen and cloudy that it causes a type of glaucoma or impair our view of the retina,” Dr. Doctor stressed. “In these instances your cataract surgeon is likely to recommend proceeding with cataract removal even though you may not think you are quite ready.”

If you or someone you know has a cataract or is need of cataract surgery and lens implants please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates is a leading Fairfield County Connecticut eye care practice providing eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, diagnosis and management of diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses and optical services. For those patients in need of eye surgery, as a founding member of the Wilton Surgery Center, Doctor & Associates eye surgeons are able to provide eye surgery in a convenient, close to home and cost effective ambulatory surgery center.

Whatever your eye care, eye health or vision correction needs might be-Doctor & Associates can serve as a Connecticut ophthalmic consultant and will be conveniently located for patients from Fairfield County and southern Connecticut including Danbury, Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Weston, Wilton, New Canaan, Norwalk, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Cannondale, Aspetuck, Redding, Trumbull, Shelton, Monroe, Darien, Glenbrook and Ridgefield Connecticut.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Fairfield County Cataract Awareness Month

“As more and more of our Fairfield County population ages, their awareness of cataracts and thus their questions about cataract, cataract surgery and lens implants increases each day,” shared Leslie Doctor, M.D., a Cataract Surgeon with offices in Norwalk, Westport & Wilton, Connecticut. 

The Prevent Blindness America study, “Vision Problems in the U.S.”, identified some 25,000,000 people age 40 and older who have cataracts. This represents a 19 percent increase since 2000. Further, more than half of all Americans over 65 have some degree of cataract development. In fact cataracts are a leading cause of vision loss among seniors. Fortunately, with cataract surgery and lens implants it is possible to help a very high percentage of those with cataracts achieve very good vision so that they can continue with their important daily activities and lifestyle.

Patients should understand that cataracts are not a growth or a film over the eye. For many patients cataracts start out slowly and have little effect on vision at first. But, as the cataract becomes denser, so does the impact on vision. The most common symptoms that bother patients with cataracts can include blurring of vision, sensitivity to light and glare, double vision in one eye, poor night vision, fading or yellowing of colors and frequent changes in glasses or contact lens prescriptions.

“What many people do not realize is that the poor vision in seniors is often associated with premature or accelerated mental decline. Additionally, the challenges reduced vision creates in terms of mobility and safety can also put patients at increased risk for orthopedic injury-especially hip fracture. So, helping seniors restore vision with cataract surgery has an important place in securing senior health, well being, mobility, safety and mental state,” said Dr. Doctor.

“When cataracts begin to interfere with daily activities or with patient comfort, mobility and safety, they can be treated surgically. Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most frequently performed surgeries in the United States. Today, we have a full range of lens implants available that allow us to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and even near vision problems after cataract surgery, as well as distance vision, without requiring bifocals or reading glasses for the vast majority of patients,” said Dr. Doctor.

If you or someone you know has questions about cataract, cataract surgery or lens implants please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates is a leading Fairfield County Connecticut eye care practice providing eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, diagnosis and management of diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses and optical services. For those patients in need of eye surgery, as a founding member of the Wilton Surgery Center, Doctor & Associates eye surgeons are able to provide eye surgery in a convenient, close to home and cost effective ambulatory surgery center.

Whatever your eye care, eye health or vision correction needs might be-Doctor & Associates can serve as a Connecticut ophthalmic consultant and will be conveniently located for patients from Fairfield County and southern Connecticut including Danbury, Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Weston, Wilton, New Canaan, Norwalk, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Cannondale, Aspetuck, Redding, Trumbull, Shelton, Monroe, Darien, Glenbrook and Ridgefield Connecticut.