Cataract Surgery in San Francisco
Cataracts are a normal part of aging. The eye’s natural lens slowly turns cloudy, and vision gets blurry, dim, or washed out. Cataract surgery replaces that lens with a clear artificial one, called an intraocular lens (IOL). The lens you choose shapes how you’ll see afterward.
Explore your options for clearer vision.
Our surgeons can check how far along your cataract is and walk you through which lenses fit your eyes.
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What Is a Cataract?
A cataract forms when the lens inside your eye loses its clarity. It usually happens slowly, so many people don’t notice how much their vision has changed until something specific gets hard. Common signs include:
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Glare, halos, or trouble driving at night
- Colors that look faded or yellowed
- Needing more light to read
- Double vision in one eye
When Should I Consider Surgery?
You don’t need to wait for a cataract to “ripen.” Surgery makes sense once your vision starts getting in the way: driving after dark, reading a menu, recognizing a face across the room, a hobby you’ve quietly stopped doing.
How Cataract Surgery Works
Surgery is the only way to remove a cataract. Most cataracts are removed with a technique called phacoemulsification: through a small incision, your surgeon breaks up the cloudy lens with ultrasound, removes it, and replaces it with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL). Your surgeon may also recommend optional technology, such as the LenSx® laser or ORA® System, depending on your eyes.
Lens Options
Your surgeon will recommend a lens based on your eye health and how you use your eyes day to day. Options include standard monofocal lenses, multifocal and extended depth of focus lenses, toric lenses for astigmatism, and the Light Adjustable Lens.
Monofocal or Multifocal?
See how the two main lens types compare, including what insurance covers and how each one affects night vision.
Meet Our Cataract Surgeons
Our Approach to Cataract Surgery
Our cataract surgeons also specialize in other parts of the eye, including the cornea and glaucoma. That matters when a cataract isn’t your only concern. Corneal conditions, past LASIK, and glaucoma can all change which lens is right for you and how your surgery is planned. At Pacific Eye, the surgeon handling your cataract also treats those conditions.
During your consultation, your surgeon will tell you which lenses suit your eyes, which ones don’t, and why.
What to Expect at Your Cataract Consultation
Your surgeon will examine your eyes, check how advanced your cataract is, and take measurements to calculate your lens power. Then you’ll talk through your vision goals and which lenses fit them.
If you’ve had LASIK, PRK, or other refractive surgery, tell your surgeon. It changes how your lens power is calculated. If you still have records from that surgery, bring them.
Are cataracts affecting your vision?
Talk with one of our surgeons about your treatment and lens options.