Cataract surgery - what to expect after your procedure

Guidelines to care for your new pair of eyes

After the procedure

What to expect after cataract surgery

The recovery after cataract surgery is relatively short – it can take a few days, but also up to one month. It really depends on the patient. You will immediately notice a significant vision improvement following the operation. However, you may also experience blurriness and feel discomfort. It can take a few days for the eye to adjust and vision to improve.

For an optimal recovery, follow your doctor's detailed instructions about how to protect your eye after the procedure, and go to your follow-up exams.

First Steps After Surgery

Make sure to follow these instructions after your operation:

Get someone to drive you home afterwards.
Try to take a long nap after to keep your eyes closed and rested.
Resist the urge to rub your eyes if they feel itchy.
If you are feeling any discomfort or slight pain, ask your doctor for eye drops or an over-the-counter mild pain reliever.
Explain your symptoms to your doctor during the follow-up visit.

Cataract patient using eye drops after surgery. — Eye drops may be used after surgery to prevent infections.

Right after surgery

After the procedure, you might be told to wear an eye patch or similar protection for a few days. Your doctor may also prescribe drops or other medications to prevent infection and control eye pressure. Make sure you use these medications exactly as prescribed.

Patient with an eye patch resting after cataract surgery. — Give your eyes time to relax after surgery.

Relaxation for a quick recovery

The doctors may advise you to relax and avoid strenuous activities such as bending over, lifting things or exercising, as well as not to overexert your eyes in general for a few weeks. You should avoid rubbing your eye or putting extra pressure on it. The first week after surgery, you should avoid swimming or using a bath/hot tub to reduce the risk of infection. Moreover, avoid exposure to irritants such as grime, dust and wind, and refrain from washing your hair.

Working at your computer or watching TV for a short amount of time should be possible within a few hours after your surgery. However, you should avoid reading and other activities that may stress your eyes in the first days after the operation.

Patient having a follow-up appointment in the specialist practice. — In the first month after cataract surgery one to four follow-up exams might be necessery.

Follow-up exams

Usually, your doctor wants to look at your eye within 24 hours after surgery. Your vision and eye pressure will be checked and instructions will be given on how to use the prescribed drops. Your vision might be blurry right afterwards, but it will improve during the first few days after your treatment.

Additional examinations are typically scheduled over the following weeks to monitor the healing process until vision has fully stabilized. Depending on the type of intraocular lens, one to four follow-up appointments within the first month after surgery are customary. The final follow-up appointment will take place about a month after the cataract removal procedure.

Regular exams

After the follow-up examinations, you only need to go to your ophthalmologist for periodic check-ups, just like before your surgery.

If you need cataract surgery in both eyes, your surgeon will usually wait at least a few days, or even up to two weeks, for your first eye to recover before performing the procedure on the second eye. If correcting glasses are still needed after the surgery, they should be prescribed only four to six weeks after the surgery.

Inform your doctor if you experience:

a strong pain in your eye
a re-appearing redness in your eye
unusual headache or nausea
considerable vision deterioration
light flashes, or huge increase of floaters in your vision

Infections and minor complications

After cataract surgery, there is a risk of infection, and you may need to take eye drops for treatment. Please see an ophthalmologist if you experience excessive swelling or any other undesirable effects. Other potential complications are minor and may include:

Swelling.
Increased pressure in the eye.
Droopy eyelid.

Minor complications usually clear up with medication and more healing time. Be sure to report any change to your ophthalmologist immediately. He or she can monitor the healing process and see if you need any medication.

Patient driving at night. — Some light phenomena may be perceived at night after cataract surgery.

Light phenomena after surgery

Some patients may experience some visual phenomena like glare or halos right after cataract surgery, especially in poor lighting conditions. Halos are bright circles that surround a light source, like headlights. Glare, on the other hand, is light that enters your eye interfering with your vision, and is more likely to appear in the daytime.

This occurs, for example, when driving at night or when there’s artificial light in the dark. These phenomena typically diminish a few weeks to a few months post-procedure, because the brain automatically adapts to the intraocular lens and compensates for it. Most patients do not feel disturbed by the light phenomena.

Consult your ophthalmologist for a check-up if you notice light phenomena even after the healing process has finished.

Posterior capsule opacification

A posterior capsule opacity (PCO) is one of the most common cataract surgery complications. It is a result of the growth and proliferation of lens epithelial cells on the capsule during surgery. These cells can migrate to the posterior capsule, where they approach the visual axis, and may cause a dimness of vision. Although some people call PCO a “secondary cataract,” it isn’t. Once a cataract is removed, it does not come back.

Fortunately, a PCO can easily be treated with a YAG laser (a special type of laser using a YAG-crystal and commonly applied in the medicine). Your ophthalmologist can perform this procedure in his practice. It is very effective, painless and takes only a few minutes.

Most people can expect their vision to improve within a day. If you are struggling with continuous bad vision after your IOL operation, contact your ophthalmologist to discuss the next possible steps together.