Fifty years ago, people like Millard High School sophomore Timothy Keele would have stumbled through life with blurred vision that most likely would have developed into blindness as he grew older.
Now it takes about 15 minutes to remove the cataracts that clouded Keele's vision.On Tuesday, after the operation was completed, Keele said he felt no pain. He expected the procedure on his left eye would be just as successful as the 10-minute procedure that restored sight to his right eye about a year ago.
The transformation on his right eye was life-changing.
"It was incredible," he said. "I could see the pine trees on the mountain. I could shoot the basketball a lot better."
Keele was one of about 20 people who have had their sight restored this year through the Mission Cataract community service program, sponsored by the Eye Institute of Utah, 755 E. 3900 South. Participants in the program received the $3,000 surgery to correct their cataracts free of charge.
Dr. Andrew Lyle, medical director of the Eye Institute of Utah, said it's unusual for someone as young as Keele to have cataracts, which normally occur in older adults as a consequence of the aging process.
Cataracts, accumulations of proteins and calcium, build up in the lens of the eye and cloud it.
"Everybody, if you live long enough, will get cataracts," he said. "It's one of the two common entities we deal with on a daily basis."
During the procedure, known as clear corneal cataract removal which involves the use of a microscope and tiny surgical instruments, anesthetic drops were used to numb Keele's eye. Next, Lyle created a one-eighth inch incision in the cornea, slowly and deliberately inserting a tiny vacuum device and sucking out the old, defective lens.
The natural lens was replaced with an artificial one that is unfolded into place by a small mechanical device. The new lens both replaces the lens affected by the cataract and provides better distance vision. The tiny incision used to access the lens usually seals without the use of stitches because of the natural pressure of the eye.
Most patients can see normally again within a few hours.
"You can check their vision 15 minutes after surgery and they'll pass a driver's license exam," Lyle said. "The family doesn't know anything has been done."
Timothy's father, Don Keele, said the miracle procedure would have been impossible for him to pay for on his small Social Security payment. He was disabled after falling at a construction site and breaking several vertebrae in his back. He has been unable to work since the accident.
"It would have been hard to come up with the money," he said. "That's why this is a great thing."
Brooke B. Jespen with the Eye Institute said Lyle donated his time for the operations and various medical companies donated the necessary supplies. This is the fourth year of Mission Cataract, and 140 surgeries have been performed in total.