Cataract Surgery in Spokane, WA
Cataracts affect millions of people every year, and almost everyone at some point in their life, but we’re happy to say that no one has to settle for blurry, distorted vision and a decreased quality of life.
Since 1980, our family-owned practice Eye Consultants has helped thousands of patients restore their vision with cataract surgery — and now our pioneering cataract surgeon, Dr. Fillmore, and his team are ready to help you, too. Our experienced and compassionate staff use advanced technology to customize your care to your needs, and help you experience the world as it was meant to be seen: clearly!
What Are Cataracts?
Inside every eye is a natural lens, a clear and flexible tissue right behind the pupil. Every part of the eye plays a crucial role, and the lens’ job is to help bring what you see into focus. As you age, the complex structure of your lens starts to break down and clump together, creating cloudy spots within the lens and causing blurry vision and other side-effects: this is a cataract.
Cataracts tend to develop slowly, causing gradual vision loss over time. At first, these symptoms may be mild, but they can progress to the point of deeply affecting your quality of life — in fact, severe cataracts can make you effectively blind and only able to distinguish between light and dark. This can only be fixed with cataract surgery, which we’re proud to say is safe, effective, and a complete solution!
Symptoms of Cataracts
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Frequent changes to your vision prescription
- Increased light sensitivity
- Glare and halos around lights
- Decreased night vision
- Distorted color vision
- Double vision
- Difficulty reading, driving at night, or performing basic activities
Causes of Cataracts
Cataracts can result from certain eye diseases or injuries, but most people will develop them from natural aging processes, sometime after 40 or 50 years of age. Certain risk factors can increase the likelihood and severity of cataracts, including:
- Being over 40 years old
- Blood-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, or hypertension
- Medications including steroids
- Substance use, especially smoking
- Previous eye surgery, eye injury, or overexposure to sunlight
What to Expect from Cataract Eye Surgery
Cataract surgery is perfectly safe, very comfortable, quite quick, and an effective, complete answer to cataracts. There’s a reason it’s one of the most commonly performed procedures in the world: it works!
This is especially true when our renowned cataract surgeon, Dr. Fillmore, uses our state-of-the-art “phacoemulsification” cataract surgery. This allows us to create an even smaller and more precise incision than in other cataract surgeries, leading to faster results and recovery.
During cataract surgery, Dr. Fillmore makes a microincision in the eye. Then, we use phacoemulsification to gently break up the old lens and remove it through the microincision. Finally, we replace the faulty natural lens with an artificial “intraocular lens” (IOL), which restores or even improves your eyesight — but more on that below. This entire process can take as little as 10 minutes per eye.
Cataract Surgery Recovery and Results
In general, we’ll ask you to rest and follow recovery instructions for 24 hours after surgery, at which point you can resume most normal activities. Many patients start to see results right after this initial 24 hours, but vision will generally take several months to completely stabilize.
The vast majority of patients enjoy fully restored or even improved vision and will happily vouch for how much their quality of life has increased — you can’t put a number on the value of being able to read, drive, and go about your day again, let alone see all the wonderful things in life that you might have otherwise missed. Schedule a cataract consultation to get your eyesight back today!
FIND OUT HOW OUR EXPERIENCED CATARACT
SURGEON CAN HELP YOU
Premium IOLs in Spokane, WA
Our range of premium IOLs can not only restore your vision, but actively improve it and correct your myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism, or presbyopia!
At Eye Consultants, we offer a variety of advanced artificial lens options. These include:
- Monofocal — Correct vision at one distance, restoring pre-cataract eyesight
- Toric — Correct for even severe cases of astigmatism where other IOLs wouldn’t work
- Multifocal — Correct vision across multiple distances; most are bifocal, but we’re proud to offer the AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® Trifocal, the first FDA-approved trifocal. In fact, our own Dr. Fillmore was the first to implant a trifocal in this part of the country!
We can discuss your vision goals, lifestyle, and best lens options during your cataract evaluation.
Cataract Surgery Pricing
Cataract surgery pricing will vary depending on your insurance and vision goals, and we can go over what you can expect to pay for cataract surgery during your cataract evaluation.
We work hard to keep prices low without sacrificing quality of care. We’ll always be honest about costs, help you make the most of your insurance, and can get you set up with CareCredit®, North America’s leading medical financing. Visit our cataract surgery pricing and financing page to learn more.
Experienced Cataract Surgeon in Spokane, WA
Cataract surgery is generally a safe and effective procedure but going with the best in the business can provide an even safer, faster surgical experience with optimal outcomes.
Our board-certified ophthalmologist, Gary Fillmore, M.D., specializes in cataract surgery. He served as chief resident at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and has helped thousands of patients restore and improve their sight. Today, he’s a pioneer in the field and an exceptional listener, ready to get to know you and your eyes.
Dr. Fillmore leads our dedicated team in providing a smooth and truly personalized cataract surgery experience using some of the most leading-edge medical equipment and techniques in the industry. After all, at Eye Consultants, your best vision is our only focus! Schedule a cataract evaluation at Eye Consultants today: Call us at (509) 484-5710 or easily make an appointment online.
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