How Long is Cataract Surgery?

A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens. As this normally clear lens gets cloudy, it decreases your ability to see well. A cataract can make objects appear blurry. It can also make colors seem less bright. When a cataract first develops, visual aids like contacts or glasses may help improve your vision. However once the cataract begins to interfere with daily tasks such as reading and driving, cataract surgery is the only viable treatment option.

Cataract surgery is a relatively straightforward outpatient procedure performed under local anesthetic, which means you’ll be awake during the procedure and can go home on the same day. During cataract surgery in Cheasapeke, Virginia Beach, Our Doctors will make a tiny incision in your eye so that the cloudy lens can be removed. After it’s been removed, it is replaced with a small plastic lens called an intraocular lens.

If you have cataracts in both eyes, you will need two separate surgeries performed a few weeks apart. This gives the first eye time to heal and time for your vision to be restored. 

There are two main types of cataract surgery and the timeframe of the procedure depends on which surgery you have. 

Phaco Surgery: With phacoemulsification, the most common type of cataract surgery performed in the U.S., the procedure can take as little as 10 minutes.

ECCE Surgery: The extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) can take longer than phacoemulsification; ECCE usually takes 30 to 45 minutes to complete.

Recovery Time: If there were no complications with the surgery, the patient will remain in recovery for a short amount of time, often 20 to 30 minutes, and then will be able to go home. Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most commonly performed procedures and has helped restore clear vision to thousands of patients. To learn more, contact Tidewater Eye at 757-483-0400 or website to schedule an appointment.