What can I expect from cataract surgery, good, bad or ugly?

With rare exceptions, you can reasonably expect it to be a quick, painless procedure that after a few days will result in noticeably better vision.

All surgical procedures, no matter how routine, carry some risk and cataract surgery is no different. Scary as it may be to think about, your decision must take into consideration the possibility you could end up with permanently worse vision. This could occur from rare events such as infection, hemorrhage, or exaggerated inflammatory reaction. That is why I believe only one eye should be done at a time.

I can only generalize, not speak to your particular situation. But the overwhelming majority of people undergoing a cataract/IOL procedure are very pleased they went ahead to have it done.

_Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic