How the treatment works
Phacoemulsification — the modern standard
The surgery begins with a self-sealing incision of around 2.2 to 2.8 millimetres at the edge of the cornea. A circular opening is made in the front of the capsular bag, leaving the rest of the bag intact to hold the new lens. A fine ultrasound probe is then introduced through the incision; it vibrates at high frequency to gently fragment the cataractous lens.
Those fragments are aspirated out of the eye through the same probe, leaving the empty capsular bag in place. A folded artificial lens is then loaded into an injector and slid through the incision; once inside the bag it unfolds, centres itself, and settles. The incision is typically too small to require stitches and seals on its own as the eye rehydrates.
The choice of IOL is what shapes the visual outcome. Different lens designs solve different problems — sharp distance vision, correction of astigmatism, freedom from reading glasses — and the recommendation depends on your eye anatomy, your dominant tasks, and your tolerance for the small visual trade-offs of premium-optic designs.
- Monofocal — one focal point with sharpest contrast; suited to patients comfortable continuing to use readers.
- Toric — corrects significant astigmatism, available alongside any of the optical designs below.
- EDOF (extended depth of focus) — a continuous range of clear vision through to intermediate, with light reading support.
- Multifocal / trifocal — engineered focal points for distance, intermediate, and near; the most spectacle-independent option, with some trade-off in night halos.
