Do not eat or drink anything after midnight or the morning before the procedure. Do not even drink coffee, tea, or water. You will be given a local or general anesthetic to prevent pain during the operation. A local anesthetic numbs your eye while you remain awake. A general anesthetic relaxes your muscles and puts you to sleep.
Most surgery is done with local anesthesia only.
The surgeon will make a small cut in your eye and remove the cloudy lens. The small pieces can then be removed through a narrow hollow tube. The surgeon will put a plastic lens in your eye. The surgeon may put one or more stitches in your eye and then put a patch over the eye. You will be in the recovery area for about an hour after surgery or until you are ready to go home.