How To Find a Cataract Eye Surgery Specialist Near Me

What are cataracts?

A cataract is a cloudiness of the eye's natural lens, which lies between the front and back areas of the eye, directly behind the pupil.

Most cataracts develop slowly over time and affect people over age 50. About half of the U.S. population has a cataract by age 65, and nearly everyone over age 75 has at least a mild cataract in one or both eyes.

In rare cases, infants can have congenital cataracts. These usually are related to the mother having German measles, chickenpox or another infectious disease during pregnancy; but sometimes cataracts are inherited.

Mild cataracts often cause little or no vision problems. Your eye doctor monitors your cataract to see if it worsens and more significantly affects your vision or lifestyle before recommending surgery.

Some cataracts never reach the stage at which they need to be removed. But if your cataract worsens and you begin to have trouble seeing clearly for driving and other everyday tasks, it's probably time to consider cataract surgery.

How can I find cataract surgery specialists near me?

Our locator makes it easy to find a cataract surgery center in your local area. Simply enter your address or zip code using the “Edit Search” option at the bottom of the locator, and a list of cataract surgery centers in your area will appear.

If you prefer to view your results on a map rather than in a list, click on the “Map View” tab above the very first eye doctor listed.

What information is provided about cataract surgery centers?

Our locator listings provide an address, phone number, and mapped driving directions. Some enhanced listings include lists of services, office hours, photos and more. Each result also has customer reviews and ratings, with the option to “Call now” or “Book now.”

How do I know if cataract surgery is right for me?

If you are noticing vision problems and have been told you have cataracts, it's likely your cataracts require surgery.

In some cases, people experience bothersome vision problems such as glare and halos at night even before their eye doctor notices significant clouding of the lenses in their eyes during a dilated eye exam. This condition — called dysfunctional lens syndrome — often is reason enough for many people to consider cataract surgery, especially if they need better visual acuity for driving at night.

How can I find a cataract surgeon that accepts my vision insurance?

Some insurance companies (including Medicare) consider cataract surgery to be "medically necessary" and a covered service only after the cataract has caused corrected visual acuity to be reduced below a specified level. Often, this criterion is 20/40 or worse (20/40 is the legal vision requirement to get an unrestricted driver's license in most states).

Our locator allows you to filter results by cataract specialists who accept your vision insurance.

Be sure to review the details of your insurance policy with your insurance agent or your eye doctor's staff so you understand if your vision qualifies you for coverage of your cataract surgery as a medically necessary expense.

If you plan to pay for your cataract surgery completely out-of-pocket, you can have the procedure done at any time, provided your cataract surgeon feels you are a good candidate and that you will benefit from surgery.

Page published on Wednesday, May 12, 2021