Carefully entering the eye through the incision, the surgeon gently opens the front of the capsule and removes the hard center, or nucleus, of the lens. Using a microscopic instrument, the surgeon then suctions out the soft lens cortex, leaving the capsule in place. The other way of removing cataract is Intracapsular surgery, in which the whole lens is removed in a single piece, without leaving the posterior capsule behind. The patients are rehabilitated with glasses or contact lenses. This form of surgery is being done in a few villages and camp surgeries in India.
Lens implants have certain advantages.
They usually eliminate or minimize the problems with image size, side vision and depth perception noted by people who wear thick eyeglasses after cataract surgery without IOL implantation. They are also more convenient than contact lenses because they remain in the eye and do not have to be removed, cleaned, and reinserted. Occasionally the doctor will decide that someone's eye is not suitable for a lens implant. In these cases contact lenses or special glasses will be prescribed instead.