Cataract surgery
When a cloudy lens affects daily life, an examination can help you decide what to do next.
Understanding cataracts
The lens inside your eye slowly clouds with age, and the world starts to look dim, blurred or washed out.
Common symptoms
- Vision that looks cloudy, blurry or dim
- Glare or halos around lights, especially when driving at night
- Colours that look faded or yellowish
- Needing more light to read
- Glasses prescriptions that keep changing
- Double vision in one eye
When surgery is considered
Surgery is considered when a cataract gets in the way of reading, driving or work. There is rarely a rush, and you decide together with your surgeon.
- Cloudy vision keeps you from driving, reading or watching television
- Vision stays blurred even after new glasses
- Glare at night makes driving unsafe
- Missteps on stairs or kerbs because you cannot judge them
How it works
No drop or supplement clears a cataract; surgery does. The clouded lens is broken up with ultrasound and removed through an opening under 3 mm, and the new lens goes in its place.
On the day
Preparation
You check in, sign the consent forms and get drops to widen the pupil.
In the operating room
Your eye is numbed with drops, cleaned and covered with a sterile drape.
The operation
The clouded lens is removed and the new one unfolds in its place. Well under an hour.
Going home
You leave with drops, instructions and a companion. We call the next day.
Risks to discuss
Serious problems are uncommon, but they can happen. Your surgeon explains them before you decide.
- Inflammation, which is expected and settles with drops, usually within a week or two
- A rise in eye pressure in the first day, treated with drops if needed
- Swelling of the cornea, which usually clears in days, occasionally weeks
- A tear in the lens capsule during surgery, which can mean a different lens position or a further procedure
- Swelling at the centre of the retina, or a retinal detachment, both uncommon
- Infection inside the eye, which is rare and prevented with antiseptic and antibiotic drops
Recovery and follow-up
Many people see better within a few days. Full healing takes several weeks, with follow-up visits along the way.
Usually not. Each eye is treated on a separate day, so the first can settle before the second.
Follow the eye drop and follow-up instructions your clinical team gives you.
Start with an examination
Your surgeon can explain which treatments may suit your eyes. This information does not replace an individual assessment.
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