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Cataract in Adults
Removing the Lens

P>There are three types of surgery to remove lenses that have a cataract:

  • Extracapsular surgery. The eye surgeon removes the lens, leaving behind the back half of the capsule (the outer covering of the lens).
  • Phacoemulsification (pronounced FAY-co-ee-mul-sih-fih-CAY-shun). In this type of extracapsular surgery, the surgeon softens the lens with sound waves and removes it through a needle. The back half of the lens capsule is left behind.
  • Intracapsular surgery. The surgeon removes the entire lens, including the capsule. This method is rarely used.

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