What Should I Expect with Cataract Surgery?

We're often asked what to expect with cataract surgery. Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure, meaning you go home when it's done. You do not stay overnight in a hospital. It is done under local anesthesia. You are given an intravenous sedative to relax you, but you are not paralyzed or put on a breathing machine. Once you are happily seddated and the eye has been numbed with a gel, the procedure starts. While you're lying down, your doctor works under a microscope, makes a tiny incision into the eye, and uses an ultrasound probe to remove the cataract. Once the cloudy lens has been removed, it's replaced with a clear lens implant. A protective shield is taped over the eye, and you're sent home. That's it! The procedure itself typically takes less than 15 minutes although you will be at the outpatient center for several hours altogether.