Most cataracts are the result of a natural change occurring to your eye that causes your vision to become cloudy or less sharp over time. Inside your eye there is a small natural lens that works with the front lens of your eye (called the cornea) to focus a clear image onto the back of your eye (the retina).

With age, proteins in the eye’s natural lens build up. When these proteins clump together they form opaque clusters. Over time, these clusters will eventually cloud the lens, allowing significantly less light to pass through. This is called a cataract. What light does pass through the protein clusters is diffuse or scattered (like looking through a dirty window).

Left untreated, cataracts have the potential to cause severe vision loss and disrupt the daily activities we normally take for granted. Fortunately, treating cataracts involves a safe, relatively simple surgery that can restore excellent vision for years to come.