A few misconceptions about when to have cataract surgery

  1. Do not wait until your vision is very poor before surgery – The World Health Organization (WHO) diagnoses cataract as clinically significant from the perspective of blindness prevention for those with degeneration and clouding of the lens and corrected visual acuity of 0.7 or less. Thus, for patients whose visual function can no longer meet the needs of life, cataract surgery can be performed if it can provide the possibility of improving vision.  2. Cataract surgery has no seasonal restrictions – modern cataract surgery uses tiny incisions of 2.2-2.8mm and routine preventive antibiotic eye solution before and after surgery, which is safe and effective, and most of them can be completed on the same day of outpatient surgery. There is no inflammation easily caused by hot or cold weather, etc.  3. No need to wait for the cataract to mature before surgery – Modern cataract surgery adopts ultrasonic emulsion aspiration surgery, which means that the cloudy lens is crushed into a crystalline form by ultrasound and then aspirated, unlike the cataract nucleus removal surgery decades ago. If the cataract is too mature, the harder the nucleus is, the more ultrasound energy is needed, which makes the surgery more difficult and may lead to posterior capsule rupture, postoperative corneal edema and uveitis, affecting the postoperative results.