Providing a clearer view of the world. (upgraded eye surgery techniques) (Special Focus on Health Care)

Things are looking up for people who have problems seeing eye to eye with the world.

Refined techniques and high-tech equipment are making eye surgeries safer and less painful than ever, according to two Austin ophthalmologists.

Watching the world grow dim as cataracts cloud a person's vision can be frightening.

No one really knows all the factors that contribute to cataracts, although heredity, injuries, ultraviolet light, drugs, X-rays and occupations such as arc welding or glass blowing all play a part, said Dr. Doyle Leslie of the Texan Eye Center. Recent studies also implicate smoking as a cause.

"Cataract surgery has changed so much and is still changing," he said.

Old cataract surgery techniques, which included slitting the cornea and removing the entire cataract, was agonizing and required a long recovery period, Leslie said.

Patient's eyeglass prescriptions would not stabilize for about two to …