Cataract surgery

Cataract surgery removes a clouded natural lens from the eye and usually replaces it with an artificial intraocular lens, restoring clearer light transmission.

Phacoemulsification: An ultrasound-based technique that breaks a cataract into fragments for removal through a small incision. It is the most widely used method for removing the clouded lens.
Monofocal intraocular lens: An intraocular lens designed to provide clear vision at one principal distance. It is a common implant choice, often paired with glasses for other distances.
Crystalline lens: The transparent, flexible structure inside the eye that changes shape to focus light onto the retina. Its clouding causes a cataract, and its removal creates the need for optical replacement.
Visual acuity: A measure of how clearly a person can resolve details, commonly tested with an eye chart. Improvement in visual acuity is a principal outcome, though it depends on more than lens clarity.
Intraocular lens: An artificial lens implanted inside the eye to replace or supplement the focusing power of the natural lens. It usually replaces the removed lens and determines much of the eye’s postoperative focusing power.
Toric intraocular lens: An intraocular lens with different optical powers across its meridians to correct corneal astigmatism. It can reduce pre-existing astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery.
Cataract: Clouding of the eye’s natural lens that can impair vision. It is the condition that cataract surgery is designed to treat.
Endophthalmitis: A severe infection inside the eye that can threaten sight. It is a rare but serious postoperative complication requiring urgent treatment.
Capsulorhexis: A circular opening made in the anterior capsule surrounding the eye’s natural lens. This opening gives instruments access to the cataract while preserving a capsule to support the implant.
Multifocal intraocular lens: An intraocular lens with multiple optical zones that provide focus at more than one distance. It can reduce dependence on glasses but may cause halos or reduced contrast.

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