[HTML1] “It’s just a matter of time,” says ophthalmologist Dr. William Riggs. “If you live long enough, you’re going to get cataracts. It’s a typical aging change that’s just part of the maturing process, and it happens to everybody to some degree or another.”
Dr. Riggs is the Division Director of Ophthalmology at the Scott & White Healthcare clinic in College Station, Texas. And today on Your Health Matters, he discusses with host Christopher Springmann what cataracts are, how they form, and how they can be treated. “It’s almost like wearing an internal pair of sunglasses,” says Dr. Riggs as he explains how aging clouds our lenses, diffusing light, dimming vision, and affecting quality of life.
Fortunately, cataract surgery is a low-risk procedure for most people. The process typically follows these steps: eye drops, a mild sedative, then a small incision in the cornea, after which the old lens is broken apart, usually with high-frequency sound waves, and carefully removed. Then the new intra-ocular lens is inserted and literally unfolds into place. The incision usually doesn’t require stitches and heals itself naturally. It’s a six-to-ten-minute procedure, and Dr. Riggs says that most of his patients are out the door 15 minutes after that, on their way to a much improved quality of life.
More about William Riggs
Dr. William Riggs is the Section Chief of Ophthalmology and Optometry at the Scott & White Healthcare Clinic in College Station, Texas. He earned his BS and MD from Texas A&M University, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Surgery at that school’s Health Science Center College of Medicine. With a patient care emphasis on cataracts, he completed his Ophthalmology Residency at Scott & White Eye Institute in Temple, Texas, and has been practicing with Scott & White since 2006.
More about Scott & White Healthcare
When Arthur C. Scott, M.D., and Raleigh R. White Jr., M.D., began their medical practice in Temple, Texas in 1897, they shared one fundamental conviction: medicine must serve the people. Today, Scott & White Healthcare is a fully integrated health system — the largest multi-specialty practice in Texas and the sixth largest group practice in the nation. Scott & White employs more than 1,100 health care providers and research scientists who care for patients covering 25,000 square miles across Central Texas. For more information, go to Sw.org/web/PatientsAndVisitors
© 2010 by On the Path Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.
Recent Comments