What happens during a cataract operation?
Usually one eye is operated on at a time. In most people the operation is done under local anaesthetic. This means that you are awake during the operation but it is not painful because local anaesthetic eye drops are used to numb your eye. (Occasionally, local anaesthetic injections are used around the eye.) The operation is performed, using a microscope, through a very small opening in the eye. When the eye is numb, the surgeon makes a tiny hole in the front of the eye at the edge of the cornea. Then, the surgeon pushes a tiny thin instrument into the lens through the front part of the lens capsule. The instrument emits ultrasound waves that break up the contents of the lens within the lens capsule. The contents of the lens are then removed by suction. Once the lens material is removed, a clear plastic lens is placed within the lens capsule through the hole made in the front part of the lens capsule. Usually no stitches are needed. The standard plastic lens has no focusing capability
