What is standard cataract surgery? How does it work?

A cataract is the clouding of your natural lens inside the eye that occurs as you get older. At some point, the clouding may become significant enough that it impairs your vision and you no longer can see as well as you would like to. To improve your vision, we perform cataract surgery.

Standard cataract surgery is a painless outpatient procedure which takes place in the surgery center. It typically takes around 10 minutes.

Step one: We numb the eye with drops during the procedure and create a small incision, only a couple of millimeters wide.

Step two: We then break the cataract apart into thousands of pieces with high-frequency ultrasound using a tiny probe. We simultaneously vacuum the tiny pieces from the eye.

Step three: We place an intraocular lens implant, made out of acrylic, into the same location where the cataract was held. This clear lens allows light to once again focus clearly onto the retina. No stitches are required, and the postoperative recovery is painless and quick with vision often improved by the next morning.

If you’d like to restore your vision and eliminate your need for glasses, book your free appointment using our online scheduler, or give us a call on (717) 996-3016.