Cataract

Cataract surgery is most often done as an outpatient procedure with local anesthesia (a numbing gel is placed in the eye) and light intravenous sedation. Prior to cataract surgery, antibiotic eye drops may be prescribed to prevent infection.

You should not see instruments coming toward your eye and you should not feel pain in your eye during surgery. The incision made to remove the cataract is so small that it usually does not require stitches. Phacoemulsification (a type of ultrasound) is the most common method used to remove the cataract.