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Clear future for cataract sufferers

Clear future for cataract sufferes

A Sydney eye surgeon is on a mission to eliminate the need for anyone with cataracts to wear glasses.

Eye surgeon Dr Patrick Versace at East Sydney Private Hospital specialises in curing cataracts.

He has been operating for years, but now his procedure has changed.


Cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure performed on the planet, with more than 21 million cases each year.

Using the latest laser technology, a patient's eyesight can go from blurry to crystal clear, in less than 15 minutes.

Instead of a scalpel held by hand, a computer makes a detailed image of the eye, enabling a laser to make precise cuts, before replacing the lens.

“We can now link the laser and where it's going to make its cuts with exactly the right layer inside the eye,” Dr Versace said.


“That's what allows us now to do this laser cataract surgery.”

Brian Sutherland fixes appliances for a living, and needs to see clear details.

As a tradie he found wearing glasses a hassle. Now, he's thrown them out.

“When you don't see things so clear, you're sort of, you're not so sure, you sort of lose interest a bit,” Brian said.

Cataracts are a common ageing problem.

With our population over 65 years old set to double to 25 per cent, cataract surgery is a producer many of us will need.

“With modern surgical techniques and multifocal lens implants, we can take vision back to what it was when patients were younger,” Dr Versace said.