Millions of people around the world live with cataracts, a common condition in which the eye’s lens becomes progressively cloudy, making vision fuzzy and normal daily living activities more difficult. Poor vision caused by cataracts cannot be corrected with glasses or contacts, but it can be treated with surgery to remove and replace the cataract. In fact, cataract surgery is one of the most widely performed procedures worldwide, estimated at 19 million cases each year.

When it comes to cataract surgery, a clear and unobstructed view of the intraocular structures within the eye is an important factor to the success of the procedure. Adequate pupil dilation not only provides the surgeon with access to the lens, but it also reduces many complications resulting from poor visualization. In many cases, the pupil remains dilated so that the surgeons view is not hampered; however, some pupillary constriction is inevitable in almost all cases, and in some cases can become problematic. Some people naturally have pupils that do not dilate well. Many other people have a condition known as floppy iris syndrome which causes poor pupil dilation and is well known risk factor for surgical complications. Floppy Iris has been linked to individuals on commonly prescribed medications such as Flomax or Tamsulosin, among others.

In order to continue to offer their patients the best level of care possible, Dr. Johnny Gayton and has been incorporating the use of the FDA approved drug Omidria during their cataract operations. Omidria is a medication that can be used during cataract surgery to help maintain pupil size and reduce post-operative ocular pain. The use of Omidria decreases surgery time lowering the risk of complications by keeping the pupil dilated. It is gentle to the eye and has been proven to decrease post- operative inflammation and patient discomfort. Dr. Johnny Gayton was the first surgeon to use Omidria in the Southeast and Eyesight Associates is currently the only practice in Middle Georgia to offer this medication to their patients.

Omidria has been working so well that Dr. Johnny Gayton has took it one step farther and developed a new technique that is being adapted worldwide. Dr. Gayton has been in demand to speak about this new technique that he has named Omidria and Femtosecond Assisted Cataract Surgery (OFACS). OFACS is performed on patients who do not dilate adequately before undergoing laser assisted cataract surgery. Dr. Gayton takes these patients to the operating room and administers Omidria before taking the patient to the laser suite. As a result, he is better able to perform the laser without the pupil shrinking in size during or after the laser, which makes for an even safer procedure. “I have been performing cataract surgery for a long time, and I am a fan of anything that adds to the safety of and improves the results of the procedure. The bottom line is that Omidria does just that,” states Dr. Gayton.