The most common treatment for remedying cataracts is surgery. Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with over 3 million Americans undergoing the procedure each year.
During surgery, an Advanced Eye Centers surgeon will remove the clouded natural lens and replace it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). Implanting an IOL takes about 20 minutes and is an outpatient procedure. In addition to a preoperative eye exam, your eye surgeon will take some measurements of your eyes and will give you topical or local anesthesia. The surgeon will make a few small incisions close to the edge of the cornea and insert a small ultrasound instrument to break up the center of the eye’s natural lens. The lens is then vacuumed out through one of the incisions. The surgeon folds and inserts the IOL through the same incisions. These incisions are usually self-sealing, requiring no stitches.
