Private Cataract Surgery

What is a cataract?

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens. It blurs your vision and usually builds up slowly with age.

The lens sits behind the coloured part of your eye and focuses light onto the retina. Over time, the proteins in the lens change and it turns cloudy. Images then look hazy, dim or washed out.

Cataracts are very common and a normal part of getting older. They can also start earlier because of diabetes, some medicines such as steroids, an eye injury, or years of sunlight. Common signs include misty vision, glare or haloes around lights, trouble driving at night, faded colours, and needing new glasses more often.

No drops or exercises can clear a cataract once it forms. Surgery is the only treatment that works, and it is one of the most successful operations in modern medicine.

Cataract surgery is the most common operation the NHS performs, with more than 450,000 procedures carried out in England each year (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, 2022). In the latest national audit, fewer than 1 in 200 people had a substantial drop in vision afterwards, and the main complication occurred in under 1% of operations (RCOphth National Ophthalmology Database, 2024)

What private cataract surgery involves?

Cataract surgery removes the cloudy lens and replaces it with a clear artificial one, called an intraocular lens. The technique is called phacoemulsification.

Your surgeon makes a tiny cut that seals itself, uses gentle ultrasound to soften the cloudy lens, and removes it. The new lens then goes into the same natural place. The cut is so small that stitches are rarely needed.

Surgery is usually a day case under local anaesthetic. You are awake, but the eye is fully numbed, so you feel no pain, only a little pressure and light. Most operations take about twenty minutes per eye.

Before surgery, your eyes are measured carefully so the new lens matches your vision. Your consultant also talks through which lens suits your lifestyle. Each eye is normally treated on a separate day, so the first can settle before the second. Because your care is consultant-led throughout, the surgeon who plans your treatment also carries it out and reviews you afterwards.

What to expect on the day of your cataract surgery

Cataract surgery benefits and considerations

Most people notice clearer, brighter vision within days. Colours often look vivid again, and many need glasses less for distance. Everyday tasks such as reading, driving and recognising faces usually become easier.

As with any procedure there are small risks, and your consultant explains them fully before you decide. They include inflammation, swelling, a short rise in eye pressure and, rarely, infection or a problem at the retina. One common, easily treated event is clouding of the membrane behind the lens months or years later. A quick, painless laser (YAG capsulotomy) sorts this out.

Recovery is usually fast. You use eye drops for a few weeks to help the eye heal. You will also be asked to avoid rubbing the eye, heavy lifting and swimming for a short time. Vision often settles within days, though it can take a little longer to be fully stable.