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Cataract surgery improves quality of life greatly. At Optegra, we offer a range of intraocular lenses and want our patients to make an informed choice when undergoing cataract surgery. It’s important that you know what to expect when having cataract surgery, so we’ve outlined the different processes for you here.
There are three different types of intraocular lens forms offered by Optegra.
The three variations are:
1. Standard Cataract Surgery
2. Enhanced Cataract Surgery
3. Advanced Cataract surgery
The right type of cataract surgery for you will depend on your vision goals.
Standard cataract surgery is for patients who are satisfied with focusing on one distance (near or far), with spectacles required for the other.
Enhanced cataract surgery is designed to correct astigmatism and/or provide both distance and intermediate vision correction alongside your cataract treatment. Patients can opt for a basic lens to correct either near or distance and astigmatism, or opt for an advanced lens that will correct distance, intermediate, and near vision as well as astigmatism.
Advanced cataract surgery is the ultimate choice of treatment, offering clearer vision at all distances, reducing dependency on glasses.
Standard surgery involves implanting a monofocal intraocular lens. This lens is designed to focus on one distance, either near or far. The patient will then require spectacles for reading if they choose to get their far sight corrected, or distance if they choose to get their near sight corrected.
This is the only cataract treatment available on the NHS (GP or optician referral required). At Optegra, we offer drop-free aftercare as standard for eligible NHS patients.
You can also get standard cataract surgery privately where no referral is needed and you will be treated within 2-4 weeks, vs a potential wait time of up to 18 weeks on the NHS (location dependent). Enhanced and Advanced treatments are not available via an NHS referral. With our private cataract treatments, you get a choice of lens to improve your vision and reduce your dependency on glasses. Explore the cost of private standard cataract surgery at Optegra.
Enhanced surgery is used to correct astigmatism, and you can also select enhanced monofocal lenses that provide distance and intermediate (computer) vision. Astigmatism occurs when the eye is not completely spherical, so light scatters as it enters the eye. Enhanced surgery uses a toric intraocular lens to correct the astigmatism so that light focuses in the correct place on the retina. A standard monofocal toric intraocular lens will correct either distance or near and astigmatism, whereas a toric multifocal intraocular lens will correct all distances and astigmatism.
Only available privately.
Refractive surgery is more advanced than the standard procedure; this procedure replaces the natural lens with an advanced multi-focal intraocular lens. The multifocal intraocular lens enables the patients to see more clearly at all distances (distance, intermediate (computer vision) and near) and offers patients the opportunity to have the freedom from spectacles that they desire.
Only available privately.
The recovery experiences for the different types of cataract surgery are the same. The main difference is the improved vision outcomes that enhanced and advanced cataract surgery procedures provide.
For treatments that use multifocal intraocular lenses, there is a period of neuroadaptation where the brain gradually adapts to the IOL while getting used to focusing on all the different distances correctly (usually a few weeks). Once adapted, these patients can expect a higher visual performance than prior to surgery, with the added bonus of spectacle independence, which is not possible with a monofocal lens.
Learn more about recovering from your cataract surgery in our cataract surgery recovery guide.
At Optegra, we carry out tens of thousands of cataract procedures each year, with an impressive success rate of 99.6%. Learn more about cataract surgery at Optegra or book a no-obligation, free consultation for expert help and advice.
One of the keys things is to have a careful assessment, talk to the experts, talk to one of our specialist surgeons and understand what’s going to work for you.Mr Shafiq RehamnConsultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Optegra
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Mr. Amir Hamid is Chief Medical Officer at Optegra and an expert refractive surgeon, based in London.
Medically Reviewed Date: 12th June 2026
