Cataract surgery is usually an outpatient process and shouldn’t be painful, though you will require someone to drive you home afterward.

Due to numbing eye drops, cataract removal is generally quick and painless. A small incision is made in the cornea, wherein cloudy lenses are broken into microscopic particles using ultrasound before being taken out for removal and replaced with artificial ones for clear vision restoration.

What happens during the surgery?

Before surgery begins, your doctor will use eye drops to numb the eye. Anesthetic medication may also be given in order to relax you during the process. Most often, patients remain awake but cannot see what’s going on due to the anesthetic effects of the numbing medications; general anesthesia may occasionally be employed instead, although this option should only be considered in cases when patients can’t remain still during the operation.

Modern surgical techniques make cataract removal an easy, painless process. Your doctor will create a small opening between the cornea and lens capsule that houses your natural lens, to allow a needle-thin probe into your eye to transmit ultrasound vibrations that break up cloudy lenses so they can be suctioned away from your eye. They then replace this natural lens with one designed to improve vision while decreasing glasses use; there are even some that eliminate their need entirely!

Cataracts can impede how light focuses in your eyes, making it hard for you to see things clearly. Therefore, cataracts are typically treated surgically – this involves replacing the cloudy lens in your eye with one that’s clearer. Lasik may help treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism but does not treat cataracts since it only reshapes cornea.

After surgery, you will spend some time recovering in a recovery area. A lightweight protective shield will be placed over your eye and held securely with tape; this helps decrease risk of accidentally rubbing or bumping it during recovery and light sensitivity during recovery. During this time, you can ask any questions and review post-op instructions with your physician.

Once your surgery has taken place, you will likely feel tired for several days afterward and experience some form of light glare or halos around lights – however this should pass over time. Your surgeon should arrange follow-up visits day-after-surgery and weekly, monthly, and six monthly later to assess healing progress and vision issues.

What happens after the surgery?

An incision will be made in your eye to allow a delicate probe, equipped with ultrasound technology to break apart the cataract into microscopic pieces, to enter. After removal by gentle suction, it will be replaced by an artificial lens called an intraocular lens implant (IOL), which corrects your vision depending on distance, near, or far vision issues as identified during preoperative evaluation.

Surgery typically lasts just minutes and patients can return to most of their daily activities shortly thereafter. On rare occasions, however, patients may experience some discomfort; in these instances over-the-counter analgesics should suffice in providing relief.

Though extremely unlikely, infection can arise after any surgical procedure – even cataract surgery – though treatment usually remains straightforward. If any symptoms of infection do appear after cataract surgery, contact your physician immediately.

Optometric procedures carry with them the risk of secondary cataract formation, caused by scarring in your lens capsule and its contents. This may create an irregular, blurry image similar to your original cataract that can easily be corrected using laser procedures such as YAG laser capsulotomy.

After cataract surgery, some patients experience a feeling of pressure in their eye that is due to various factors – such as using lid speculum during the procedure or injection anesthesia. While it usually self-corrects after some time has passed, if that does not happen your eye doctor can provide eye drops to reduce eye pressure.

As cataract surgery isn’t usually painful, you should take precautions post-surgery to protect the eye from pressure or rubbing. Wear a shield during sleep hours to help protect from pressure or rubbing and don’t lift anything over 25 pounds. Use any prescribed medications as directed for infections control and eye pressure management and be sure to keep eyes moist by frequent artificial tear use in order to speed healing more quickly; vision should return within days post surgery!

How long does it take to recover?

Cataract surgery is typically an outpatient process that lasts less than an hour. Your ophthalmologist makes a small incision to extract and replace damaged lens with an artificial intraocular implant (IOL); typically foldable multifocal, toric or monofocal IOLs may be utilized.

After surgery, most people can resume most normal activities quickly; however, it’s wise to take it easy while your eye heals and avoid strenuous activities for at least several days post-surgery. Your ophthalmologist will advise when it is safe for you to resume normal life activities.

As you recover from cataract surgery, it’s vitally important that you adhere to your doctor’s advice on medications and care. For instance, you may require drops to treat pain and control inflammation in your eyes; additionally, using protective shields when sleeping or bathing may help. Rubbing could lead to infection of your eye.

At this stage, it would also be wise to avoid wearing contact lenses until your doctor gives the go-ahead to do so, in order to prevent complications like dry eye syndrome, redness or itchiness from developing.

As part of your recovery from cataract surgery, make sure you get enough rest during the recovery process. Adequate rest will help your body heal more quickly and improve your vision, while simultaneously trying to minimize stress levels as much as possible – this will reduce discomfort while decreasing complications related to surgery.

Most patients who undergo cataract surgery experience significant improvement in their vision. Unfortunately, there is the possibility of posterior capsule opacification; this occurs when a thin membrane forms over the back of your lens implant and impairs your sight temporarily. Most often this complication can be addressed with medication or surgery and will have no lasting impact on your sight.

What are the risks of surgery?

Modern cataract surgery is considered safe and has an extremely high success rate; however, complications can still arise; some minor, while others more severe such as inflammation and vision loss can have lasting impacts on quality of life.

One common risk associated with cataract surgery is infection, occurring in less than 0.5 percent of cases but can be serious. If symptoms such as pain, light sensitivity or drainage appear following your procedure, contact your physician immediately for treatment.

Dislocated intraocular lenses (IOLs), though rare, can occasionally occur after cataract surgery and often lead to double vision. Your surgeon should usually be able to reposition the IOL to fix this problem quickly.

An important complication of cataract surgery is anterior vitreous detachment. If left untreated, this serious condition can result in permanent vision loss. It can appear months or years post-op, often as the result of retinal tears; if symptoms such as flashes of light or shadowed spots over your eye appear after having cataract surgery it is essential that you contact your physician immediately.

Complications associated with cataract surgery may include eyelid swelling. This may cause blurry vision and should be treated by medications.

Retinal detachment, an additional risk associated with cataract surgery, should also be treated immediately by an eye specialist to avoid blinding loss of vision and possible blinding detachments from occurring. Surgery may help to prevent retinal detachments through laser treatment or cataract surgery; to minimize potential complications associated with cataract surgery it’s essential that a skilled and experienced surgeon be selected for this process. A/Prof Simon Skalicky is an expert cataract surgeon, using state-of-the-art techniques to minimize risks. He can assist you in deciding if cataract surgery is right for you and explain its associated risks before providing recommendations regarding effective treatments tailored specifically to your situation. Get in touch with him now for further details or an initial consultation appointment!