Do not read this part if you prefer not to know how the operation is done.
An incision is made into the white of the eye just under the upper lid using a blade made of diamond, this is less the half the width of your small fingernail. It is made in such a way that it acts like a valve so that nothing can leak out during or after the operation. Minimal cautery is used as too much can cause the eye to defocus later. This means that the incision can look bloody in the days after the operation.

(Some surgeons cut directly through the cornea rather than the white of the eye but that incision has a few disadvantages.)

The tissue which wraps the cataract is peeled open and an ultrasonic probe breaks the cataract down into a fluid which is then washed out of the eye.
When this stage of the operation has been completed the implant is inserted into the space that was occupied by the cataract. Once inside the eye the implant unfolds like a flower blossoming. When we withdraw the instruments from the eye the valve-like cut snaps shut and the eyeball seals itself. No stitches are used. The operation is then over.

You then return to the ward area with a clear shield over the operated eye and when ready you may go home The ophthalmic nurse will have instructed you how to instill your drops and how to clean your eye. For the first few hours after the operation the eye may look very red. Sometimes the vision can be very smeary. There can be some pain and or headache as the anaesthetic drops wear off. This is common but wears off. You should take your preferred painkiller as required during this time.

Below is a video of the actual Cataract Surgery carried out by John Bolger.

If you wish yo view this video in full screen please click here