NHS Cataract Surgery

You must inform the operating surgeon if you have a cough. If you can control your cough, surgery can proceed, but you must let the staff know if you need to cough so that the surgery can be paused if necessary. If you cannot control your cough, your GP may be able to prescribe something that will suppress it. If you have a cold or are feeling unwell, you should not proceed with surgery. Please inform us as soon as possible so we can re-book your theatre slot at a time that’s convenient for you.

Please inform us if you are taking antibiotics. In some cases, long-term antibiotics will not stop you from having surgery. However, if you have an active infection, your surgery should be rebooked until resolved.

SpaMedica does not perform cataract surgery under general anaesthetic, so you won’t be put to sleep for your operation and you’ll be able to go home on the same day as your surgery. The majority of cataract surgery is performed using local anaesthetic, which is administered using eye drops. The eye drops numb your eye to stop you feeling any pain during your operation.
If you want to be put to sleep for your cataract surgery, you’ll need to tell your optician or GP before they refer you for treatment so they can identify a suitable treatment provider.

Please inform the staff at your pre-assessment appointment if you are taking blood-thinning medication. You must continue your blood thinners, inform your anti-coagulation clinic, and obtain an INR result within a week of your surgery.

If your INR is out of range, you should contact us so that we can discuss your readings with your surgeon and make a decision about whether we can proceed with your surgery, or whether we’ll need to re-book it for a later date.

When you have cataract surgery, your eye’s natural lens is replaced with an artificial lens (also referred to as an intraocular lens/IOL). If your cataract surgery is carried out on the NHS, then you’ll only have the option of a monofocal lens, which can correct long or short-sightedness, but not both. Your lens can be set to focus on objects that are close up, or objects that are in the distance, but it won’t be able to switch between the two. This means, if you had issues with both long and short-sightedness and were wearing glasses before cataract surgery, it’s likely that you’ll still need them afterwards, but you’ll usually need to get a new prescription to account for the improvement in your vision after cataract surgery.  

If, however, you’re having your cataract surgery done privately, then you’ll be able to choose from a wider range of lenses, including monofocal, varifocal and toric lenses. Toric lenses are designed to correct astigmatism and can be either monofocal or varifocal. 

When you’ve had cataract surgery, you may initially have blurred vision. You may also experience some sensitivity to light, itching, aching and eye-watering. These symptoms are all completely normal and should get better within a few days. Most patients’ vision is back to normal within a day of their cataract surgery. 

In some cases, after cataract surgery, your vision might remain blurry for a couple of weeks. This isn’t unusual, so don’t worry. Just keep taking your eye drops and ensure that you don’t rub or touch your eye. This will allow it to heal properly and give your eye time to adjust to the replacement lens that is inserted during cataract surgery. 

Cataract surgery can cause your eye to water more than usual, which may lead to your vision becoming blurry. If you notice your eye feels sticky, you can bathe it to remove any residue. You’ll usually be provided with a pack of sterile swabs by your surgeon, for using when bathing your eye. When bathing your eye, boil some water to sterilise it, wait for it to cool enough to use comfortably, then use your sterile swabs to bathe your eye with the water. This should remove any gunk from your eye and help to reduce the blurring of your vision. 

You can repeat this as often as is necessary, and your eye should stop watering within a few days to a week or so.