Your eye should feel better 1 or 2 days after cataract surgery, and most people are completely healed 8 weeks after it. You can't drive yourself home, so bring someone. For a few weeks you may need to avoid touching your eye, bending over and lifting heavy things, and you'll use prescribed eye drops to help the eye heal. Vision may be blurry at first; about 9 out of 10 people see better afterward. With cataract surgery co-management, your follow-up visits check healing, eye pressure and vision on your surgeon's schedule. If you suddenly lose vision in the eye that had surgery, even if it comes back, call your surgeon right away; if you can't reach the surgeon, call 911. Sudden loss in the other eye or both eyes, or any change in vision with face drooping, arm weakness or trouble speaking, is a 911 call.
Key takeaways
- Full healing takes about 8 weeks for most people, and the eye should feel better after 1 or 2 days.
- Bring someone to drive you home, and for a few weeks you may need to avoid touching your eye, bending over and lifting heavy things.
- Vision may be blurry at first, and you might need a new glasses or contact lens prescription once the eye has completely healed.
- Sudden vision loss in the eye that had surgery, even if it comes back, means calling your surgeon right away, or 911 if you can't reach them.
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What to expect after cataract surgery
Bring a friend or family member on the day. Once the new lens is in, you rest in a recovery area outside the operating room for a little while before going home.
Your eye may feel a bit itchy or uncomfortable, and sensitive to light and touch. After 1 or 2 days, it should feel better. You'll get eye drops to help it heal, and you may need to wear a special eye shield or glasses.
Your vision might be blurry at first while the eye recovers. Some people notice that colors seem brighter after cataract surgery.
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How long is cataract surgery recovery?
Most people are completely healed 8 weeks after their surgery.
| When | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Day of surgery | A short rest in a recovery area, then someone else drives you home |
| First 1 to 2 days | Itching, discomfort, and sensitivity to light and touch, which should then ease |
| First few weeks | Prescribed eye drops; you may need to avoid touching your eye, bending over and lifting heavy things |
| Usually about a month | Surgery on the second eye, if both eyes have cataracts |
| About 8 weeks | Most people are completely healed; you might need a new glasses or contact lens prescription |
Your surgeon sets the exact dates, and your eye doctor will explain how to protect your eye after cataract surgery.
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How long after cataract surgery can you bend over?
Plan on a few weeks. The National Eye Institute says you may need to avoid some activities for a few weeks after surgery, like touching your eye, bending over or lifting heavy things.
Your surgeon's instructions set the exact time for your eye, so ask before going back to heavy lifting or to work that keeps your head down. Until then, keep your hands away from the eye, and wear the shield or glasses if you were given them.
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How long after cataract surgery can you drive?
Not on the day of surgery. NEI says you won't be able to drive afterward, so you'll need someone to make sure you get home safely.
After that, it depends on how well you see. California's DMV vision screening standard is 20/40 with both eyes together, and 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other, with or without corrective lenses. Your vision might be blurry at first while the eye recovers, and if both eyes have cataracts, the second is usually done about a month after the first.
We check your vision at every follow-up visit, so ask us there whether it meets that standard before you drive again.
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What are the eye drops for after cataract surgery?
They help your eye heal. One example is difluprednate (Durezol), a prescription corticosteroid drop approved to treat inflammation and pain after eye surgery.
Use each drop exactly as prescribed, for as long as prescribed, and don't stop early on your own. We manage your drops at your follow-up visits, so bring your questions about them there.
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When can I get new glasses after cataract surgery?
Once the eye has completely healed. At that point you might need a new prescription for glasses or contact lenses to see clearly.
How much you'll rely on glasses depends on the implant. A standard monofocal implant focuses light from objects far away, so people who have one generally need glasses to see clearly up close. A multifocal implant focuses at several distances, and people who have one may have less need for glasses.
As part of cataract co-management, we go through the implant choices with you before the referral, and once the eye settles, we finalize any glasses you still need.
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When should you call your eye doctor after cataract surgery?
If you suddenly lose vision in the eye that had surgery, even if it comes back, call your surgeon right away; if you can't reach the surgeon, call 911. Call 911 right away for sudden loss of vision in your other eye or both eyes, sudden double vision, or any change in vision with face drooping, arm weakness or trouble speaking. Sudden trouble seeing is one of the CDC's stroke warning signs, and the CDC says to call 911 right away. The American Stroke Association says to get help even if symptoms go away.
Cataract surgery is one of the most common, safe and effective types of surgery done in the United States, but like any surgery it has risks: swelling, bleeding or infection; vision loss or double vision; unusual changes in eye pressure; retinal detachment; and secondary cataracts. Your eye doctor can treat these problems, and treatment should start as soon as possible.
The National Eye Institute says to call your eye doctor right away if you notice any of these after surgery:
- Any other loss of vision (for sudden loss of vision in the eye that had surgery, call your surgeon first, as above)
- Bad pain that won't go away even if you take medicine for it
- Very red eyes
- Flashes of light, or a lot of small dark spots or squiggly lines floating across your vision
During office hours (Monday 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Friday 8am to 5pm), call us at 310-828-2010 right away; same-day urgent eye care appointments are available, even between your scheduled visits. When we're closed, go to an emergency room for new flashes, a shower of new floaters, or a dark curtain or shadow over part of your vision. For bad pain, a very red eye or any other loss of vision while we're closed, call your surgeon right away or go to an emergency room.
Flashes and floaters matter after this operation because cataract surgery raises the risk of retinal detachment, which is a medical emergency. Our page on floaters and flashes explains what we look for.
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Your follow-up visits at Cohenmehr Optometry
Before surgery, we at Cohenmehr Optometry confirm the cataract, help you decide when surgery is worth it, and refer you to a trusted cataract surgeon with complete records. In cataract surgery co-management, the surgeon does the operation, and your follow-up visits happen here, on the surgeon's schedule. At each one we check healing, eye pressure and vision and manage your drops, and when the second eye is due, we coordinate its timing with your surgeon.
If your eye feels dry or gritty while it heals, tell us at your next visit. Dry eye care during recovery is part of how we co-manage eye surgery, and our page on dry eye before eye surgery explains why the tear film matters around an operation.
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Questions patients ask
Why is my vision blurry after cataract surgery?
At first, blur is part of healing, and once the eye has healed you might need a new glasses prescription. A later cause is a secondary cataract (posterior capsule opacification), which can appear weeks, months or even years after surgery; your eye doctor can fix it with laser treatment. Blur with bad pain, a very red eye, flashes or a lot of new floaters needs a call to us at 310-828-2010 right away (an emergency room when we're closed). Sudden loss of vision in the eye that had surgery, even if it comes back: call your surgeon right away, or 911 if you can't reach the surgeon. Sudden loss in the other eye or both eyes, or with face drooping, arm weakness or trouble speaking, is a 911 call.
Can cataract surgery raise eye pressure?
It can. The National Eye Institute lists unusual changes in eye pressure among the risks of cataract surgery. Steroid drops can raise it too: the label for difluprednate (Durezol) warns that prolonged corticosteroid use may result in glaucoma and calls for routine pressure checks when the drop is used for 10 days or longer. High eye pressure usually has no noticeable symptoms, so we measure it at your follow-up visits. Keep using your drops as prescribed.
Can cataract surgery fix astigmatism?
It can help correct it, with an astigmatism-correcting (toric) implant. The FDA's description of one approved implant, the TECNIS Synergy, says its toric version also helps correct a cornea that has a different shape than normal (astigmatism), and that toric models are used in people with corneal astigmatism of 1 diopter (a standard unit of lens power) or more. Whether a toric lens fits your eye depends on your measurements, and we go through the implant choices, including astigmatism-correcting options, before your referral.
How often should you get an eye exam after cataract surgery?
Go to every follow-up visit while the eye heals; NEI says to be sure to go to all your checkups. After that, NEI advises a dilated eye exam every 1 to 2 years from age 60, and we recommend a comprehensive exam at least once a year after 60. Exams still matter after surgery: having had cataract surgery raises your risk of retinal detachment, and a dilated eye exam can find a small retinal tear or detachment early, before it starts to affect your vision.
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Sources
- National Eye Institute: Cataract surgery
- California DMV: Vision conditions
- DailyMed (FDA label): Durezol
- FDA: TECNIS Synergy intraocular lens
- CDC: Signs and symptoms of stroke
- American Stroke Association: TIA
- National Eye Institute: Retinal detachment
- American Optometric Association: Ocular hypertension
- National Eye Institute: Cataracts
Written by
Dr. Kevin Cohenmehr, OD
Medical eye care: glaucoma, diabetic eye exams, macular degeneration and eye infections, plus vision therapy for children. A graduate of UCLA and SUNY College of Optometry.
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