The operation should be performed by an ophthalmologic surgeon with extensive experience in removing cataracts. Since many different methods are available for anesthesia, hospitalization, correction of vision after cataract surgery, and removal of the cataract itself, you should discuss all these aspects of the operation thoroughly with your ophthalmologist before choosing a surgeon. General anesthesia may be used, but local anesthesia is safer and simpler, especially for elderly or ill patients. The 1 hour operation causes little or no pain. Today's most common operation excises the cataract but leaves the thin transparent capsule of the lens.
Children have very soft lenses, which can be aspirated without previous ultravibration.
The cornea is then sutured together. These techniques are increasingly available on an out-patientbasis, but some physicians prefer to monitor their patients overnight or longer. A lengthy hospital stay is no longer necessary, except in unusual cases. Many patients return to normal activities soon after leaving the hospital. When cataracts appear in both eyes and grow at different rates, the most severely affected eye is usually operated on first.