In cataract surgery, the lens inside your eye that has become cloudy is removed and replaced with an artificial lens (called an intraocular lens, or IOL) to restore clear vision. Best candidates are those with blurred vision, clouded vision, light sensitivity, dim colors.

Procedure time: about 15 minutes

Typical results: long-lasting clear vision (at all distances with presbyopia-correcting IOLs)

Recovery time: about a month

The procedure typically is performed on an outpatient basis and does not require an overnight stay in a hospital or other care facility. Most modern cataract procedures involve the use of a high-frequency ultrasound device that breaks up the cloudy lens into small pieces, which are then gently removed from the eye with suction. This procedure, called phacoemulsification or "phaco," can be performed with smaller incisions than previous surgical techniques for cataract removal, promoting faster healing and reducing the risk of cataract surgery complications, such as a retinal detachment.

After all remnants of the cloudy lens have been removed from your eye, the cataract surgeon inserts a clear intraocular lens, positioning it securely behind the iris and pupil, in the same location your natural lens occupied. (In special cases, an IOL might be placed in front of the iris and pupil, but this is less common.). The surgeon then completes the cataract removal and IOL implantation procedure by closing the incision in your eye (a stitch may or may not be needed), and a protective shield is placed over the eye to keep it safe in the early stages of your cataract surgery recovery.

Recently, a number of femtosecond lasers — similar to the lasers used to create the corneal flap in all-laser LASIK — have been approved by the FDA for use in cataract surgery performed in the United States. Please click here for a video on how cataract surgery works. These lasers have gained approval for the following steps in cataract surgery, reducing the need for surgical blades and other hand-held tools:

Creating corneal incisions to allow the surgeon access to the lens Removing the anterior capsule of the lens Fragmenting the cataract (so less phaco energy is required to break it up and remove it) Creating peripheral corneal incisions to reduce astigmatism (when needed)

Cataract Surgery Replacement of cloudy, compromised eye lenses with IOLs. Read more

Argon & YAG Laser Treatment Employed in diabetic eye disease, glaucoma and post cataract patients. Read more

HRTIII Diagnostic Heidelberg Retinal Tomogram offers accurate and precise “primary open angle” glaucoma diagnosis. Read more