Cataract Eye Surgery

Dr. Angela Nahl is a leading San Diego cataracts surgeon with many years' experience helping patients restore youthful, crisp vision. She recommends and performs cataract surgery when the lens of one or more of your eyes has lost its transparency and your vision has become cloudy. During cataract surgery, Dr. Nahl removes the clouded lens and replaces it with a high quality intraocular lens implant (IOL). The recovery time after cataract surgery is minimal, and many cataracts San Diego patients experience greatly improved vision shortly after their procedures. To learn more about cataract surgery in San Diego and how this procedure can help you realize your vision correction goals, please explore the paragraphs below.

A cataract is not an unusual condition and the odds of developing cataracts increases with age. Dr. Nahl can perform cataract surgery on an outpatient basis with minimal discomfort. The overall success rate for cataract surgery is more than 90 percent.

Dr. Angela Nahl can solve your problem by removing your damaged lens and permanently implanting a new plastic lens.

During the surgery, she will:

  • Put you under local anesthesia
  • Dilate your pupils
  • Remove the clouded lens
  • Implant a new, clear artificial lens

You will be asked to wear an eye patch for several hours after your surgery is completed to help protect your new lens. Once you have removed the eye patch your vision should improve and your eye should heal in one to four weeks. You are advised to avoid contact sports during your recovery time.

PREPARATION:

We will make many tests and measurements to analyze the type of surgery needed. These exams include an ultrasound of the eye to measure the length and the curvature (shape) of the front surface of the eye. Together, these tests help us choose the power of the artificial lens that will be implanted in the eye at the time of surgery.

Routine testing before surgery is often done to assess your overall general health prior to cataract removal. Because cataract surgery is usually done with local anesthesia (numbing), most of our cataracts San Diego patients are able to undergo cataract extraction regardless of other illnesses they may have.

PROCEDURE:

During the procedure, adolescents will be given general anesthesia to keep them in deep sleep and pain free. Adults are usually awake, but sedated. A local anesthesia will be given to adults for a pain free procedure.

With the advanced technology microscope, a small incision is made in the junction of the clear and white out parts of your eye. The lens may be removed in several ways. This depends on the type of your cataract.

  • With surgical instruments and suction
  • With surgical instruments and machine that uses high frequency sound waves to break up the lenses and suction it out.

AN IOL (artificial intraocular lens) will be inserted to aid the eye focus in the absence of the lens that is about to be removed. Incisions may be closed with fine stitches or self sealing. If self sealing is placed, it may need to be removed at a later date.

The surgery typically lasts about an hour. Patients usually may return to their home on the same day as the procedure and revisits us on the very next day for examination. We will place a patch over the operated eye. The patch must be worn until the follow up examination for the next day. We will prescribe antibiotics and anti inflammatory eye drops for several weeks to assist the healing process.

The complete healing will take about 10 weeks.


Over the years, Dr. Nahl has established a reputation as a highly accomplished San Diego cataract surgery specialist. In order to help all of her patients realize their vision correction goals, Dr. Nahl offers a range of premium IOLs, including Crystalens, ReZoom and ReStor in San Diego. In addition to performing cataract surgery, Dr. Nahl offers implantable contact lenses (ICLs). By inserting special lens implants in front of the eye’s iris, Dr. Nahl can help San Diego Visian ICL patients achieve clear vision while reducing their dependence on glasses.