Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure that begins with an eye surgeon numbing the nerves in and around your eye with a local anesthetic. Once the anesthetic has taken effect, the surgeon will make a small incision and remove your cataract-clouded lens. The natural lens is then replaced with an intraocular lens (IOL) made of plastic, silicone, or acrylic, and the incision is closed. The entire procedure takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. During the recovery process, the IOL fuses with the eye and becomes an integral part of the eye’s structure.