Lens is the tool the eye uses for the final and fine focussing of light on retina and for accommodation - that is to focus near objects.
It sometimes opacifies, forms cataract,commonly with aging, following injuries to the eyes or due to other eye diseases. Less commonly it occurs in children and infrequently, following other eye surgeries.
It rarely gets displaced from its position and lands up being an obstacle in focussing light, paradoxical to its usual duties.!
When the lens opacity is significant, it has to be taken out surgically. There are no known medications to reverse or melt the cataracts.
Present day advances in technology offers cataract surgery to be offered on day care basis, procedure as such could be completed in 15-20 minutes and hospital stay may be as short as a couple of hours,as much as watching a movie in a mall.!
Present day cataract surgery can be performed without any injectable anaesthesia, without stitches(and even without bandage !).
Gold standard technique of performing the surgery is by way of Phacoemulsification using ultrasound energy and newest addition to the armamentarium is micro incision cataract surgery (MICS) which can be performed through ultra small incision on the cornea, as small as 2-2.2 mm. This allows for rapid wound stabilisation, healing.
However, the larger, scleral incision (SICS) techniques are still valid, may need to be employed in certain conditions, and also have evolved to be done without stitches.