Cataract surgery

A cataract is a loss of transparency of the crystalline lens, which is the natural lens of the eye. It becomes increasingly opaque and, as a result, less and less light enters the eye: vision eventually declines. Whatever its cause, once a cataract has set in, surgery is the only option to restore vision.

Cataract surgery consists of removing the old lens, which has lost its transparency, and replacing it with a perfectly transparent intraocular lens, in order to restore the passage of light.

The procedure takes place as a day case, under local anaesthesia. The eye is anaesthetised with drops; then an eyelid speculum is put in place to prevent blinking, and the patient looks at a target light in the microscope. A small incision, 2.2 millimetres wide, is made at the periphery of the cornea.

Schematically, a cataract can be divided into several parts: its nucleus, at the centre, hard, which must be broken up using ultrasound; its periphery, soft, which can simply be aspirated; and the capsule, very thin, all around, which must be preserved. Once the lens has been removed, this is the moment when the intraocular lens is put in place. The small incisions are then hydrated and the procedure is complete. It lasts on average ten to twenty minutes.

The post-operative period is comfortable and the after-care is limited to instilling antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops on the surface of the eye.