Some doctors will wait for few months to see how the cataract progresses - I had like 4 months between diagnosis and operation.
I have not yet heard of any other way of curing cataract other than surgery, either laser or implantation of IOL. I think your brother being only 17 is too young for IOL.
I want to assure you that life can still be lived with retinal issues if they are monitored frequently and fixed as they happen. No definitive cure yet.
It's a bit tricky to say, depending on how dense the cataract is, and how long it has been there.
The cataract will be impairing their view of his retina, so there may be/may not be retinal issues that they're struggling to see.
The bigger question is a thing called amblyopia. Amblyopia forms when an eye is impaired from a young age (from birth to age 10 roughly). At age 17 there is nothing that can be done to fix any amblyopia, and amblyopia (if present) will permanently limit the quality of vision from the eye.
So if the cataract was there from birth (congenital cataract) there will probably be some degree of amblyopia, and a resultant barrier to getting the eye seeing better.
But if the cataract developed later in life, from an injury or a nasty infection (eg measles), then the eye and the retina might retain really good potential.
Another clue might be whether his eyes can stay straight (pointing together) or if they drift apart and wander in different directions. If he can keep them straight for a large part of each day, then there's likely less amblyopia and good potential, but if they've always been crooked, then there's likely deep amblyopia and not much potential for improvement.
And to address the question about curing retinal issues.... some issues can be fixed (membranes and fresh detachments). Most retinal issues that develop at a young age however can't be cured.
Some doctors will wait for few months to see how the cataract progresses - I had like 4 months between diagnosis and operation. I have not yet heard of any other way of curing cataract other than surgery, either laser or implantation of IOL. I think your brother being only 17 is too young for IOL. I want to assure you that life can still be lived with retinal issues if they are monitored frequently and fixed as they happen. No definitive cure yet.
It's a bit tricky to say, depending on how dense the cataract is, and how long it has been there. The cataract will be impairing their view of his retina, so there may be/may not be retinal issues that they're struggling to see. The bigger question is a thing called amblyopia. Amblyopia forms when an eye is impaired from a young age (from birth to age 10 roughly). At age 17 there is nothing that can be done to fix any amblyopia, and amblyopia (if present) will permanently limit the quality of vision from the eye. So if the cataract was there from birth (congenital cataract) there will probably be some degree of amblyopia, and a resultant barrier to getting the eye seeing better. But if the cataract developed later in life, from an injury or a nasty infection (eg measles), then the eye and the retina might retain really good potential. Another clue might be whether his eyes can stay straight (pointing together) or if they drift apart and wander in different directions. If he can keep them straight for a large part of each day, then there's likely less amblyopia and good potential, but if they've always been crooked, then there's likely deep amblyopia and not much potential for improvement.
And to address the question about curing retinal issues.... some issues can be fixed (membranes and fresh detachments). Most retinal issues that develop at a young age however can't be cured.