After the anaesthetic is administered, your eye and face will be covered with a sterile drape. The whole cataract procedure will then be performed though a tiny 2mm incision. You will hear vibrating noises for about half of the procedure. This is the machine breaking up the cataract using ultrasound. You will not be able to see details of what is happening but may see just shapes or bright lights, or nothing at all. The operation will typically last from between 10-20 minutes. Whilst you will need to lie still for the duration of the procedure, you can feel reassured that if you do need to move, you can simply inform me and I will then allow you to make yourself comfortable again. At the end of the procedure I routinely administer some antibiotics and antiseptic to minimise the chance of infection in your eye. I will then place a protective eye shield your eye to be worn overnight.