Cataract History

 

When the eye and its naturally clear lens become clouded, it’s called a cataract. Most cataracts are the result of the natural process of aging. Others may be present at birth or develop as a result of physical, drug, or chemical injury. Cataract surgery is one of the most common operations performed in the U.S. and clears up this fogginess clears up the cloudiness.

What Happens During Cataract Surgery?

During cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed or cleaned out and replaced by a clear lens.

Most cataract surgeries are done with a technique called phacoemulsification aka "small cut (incision) cataract surgery." The cut (incision) can be smaller, because the harder center section of the lens is made into liquid and then vacuumed out.

Your eye doctor may use a laser to make the cut. The hope is that a more precise cut will further improve recovery from cataract surgery.

After the cataract is removed, the surgeon usually replaces it with a new, man-made lens called an intraocular lens or IOL. This procedure is called "intraocular lens implantation."

Cataract surgery is done as an outpatient procedure in an operating room, so you don't have to stay in the hospital. The actual surgery usually lasts less than an hour. It is safe and in many ways desirable to endure this surgery in comparison with others.

Doctors won’t remove the cataracts in both eyes at the same time. For each eye there will be a dated surgery usually 3weeks or more apart.