Postoperative management

The post-operative recovery period (the period after cataract extraction is done) is usually short. The patient has to use two short of eyedrops (antibiotic and steroid drops) for 4 weeks in order to prevent infection (i.e. endophthalmitis).  

The patient is usually ambulatory on the day of surgery, but is advised to move cautiously and avoid straining or heavy lifting for about a month. The eye is usually patched on the day of surgery and the dressing is removed a few hours later.

In cataract surgery, the cataractous lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens, known as intraocular lens, which stays in the eye permanently. Intraocular lenses are usually monofocal, correcting for either distance or near vision, however, multifocal lenses may be implanted to improve near and distance vision simultaneously, but these lenses may increase the chance of unsatisfactory vision.