What is Cataract surgery?

​Cataracts are treated by having surgery to remove the cloudy lens in your eye. In most cases, the natural lens is replaced with an artificial, clear silicon lens. This is called an
intraocular implant or intraocular lens (IOL). An intraocular lens measurement will be done to calculate the power of the lens to be implanted. This will be explained in depth by the doctor. If the eye’s visual power after surgery is considerably different than what was planned, surgical replacement of the IOL might be considered. It is usually possible to replace the IOL and improve the situation. Patients who are highly nearsighted or highly farsighted have the greatest risk of differences between planned outcomes. Patients who have had LASIK or other refractive surgeries are especially difficult to measure precisely.

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Benefits of the surgery:

• Clearer sight​

• Brighter colours

• Better night vision

• Less need for glasses

• Fewer falls

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Risk factors that may cause cataracts:

• A history of cataract in the family

• Smoking

• Lifestyle factors, such as poor diet

• Overexposing your eyes to sunlight

• Taking medicines containing steroids for a long time

Other causes:

• Diabetes

• Injuries to the eye

• Other eye conditions, such as uveitis (inflammation of the uveal tract in the eye)​​​​

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Procedure:

Cataract surgery is a day procedure performed under local anaesthetic with intravenous conscious sedation. Most people feel no pain. During your operation, your Ophthalmologist will make a small incision (cut) in the surface (cornea) at the front of your eye. Your Ophthalmologist will then insert a tiny probe through this cut. The probe will break up the cloudy lens into tiny pieces using an ultrasound. The tiny pieces will then be sucked out of the eye.
Once this is done, your Ophthalmologist will insert an artificial, clear silicon lens through the incision. The lens sits in a little “pocket” called the lens capsule to keep it in place. The lens is folded when it is inserted and once it is in position it can unfold.

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Surgeons prefer to only do one eye at a time to prevent the risk of infection. The procedure lasts approximately 30 minutes per eye. A protective shield will then be placed over the operated eye and post-operative checks will follow the day after the surgery.

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Risks and considerations:

​While rare, it is estimated that less than 1% of people experience any serious complications after having cataract surgery.

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Post-operatively:

The vision of most people who have cataract surgery improves almost immediately. However, it may take time to settle down completely. The incision (cut) in the eye’s surface is so small that it usually heals by itself, although sometimes a small stitch may be needed. When the operation has been completed, your IOL will be set up for a certain level of vision. After the operation, you may need to wear glasses to see objects that are far away (distance vision) or close to you (near vision).

 

If you wore glasses previously, your prescription would probably change. It will take several weeks after the operation for your vision to settle down before your Optometrist can give you a new prescription.