Diseases & Conditions
Ask the doctor: Do cataracts need to be ripe for surgery?
It's true that people used to have to wait until their cataracts hardened, or "ripened," before they could get cataract surgery. The operation involved removing the lens more or less intact through a fairly large incision in the eyeball. The results were better if the lens was solid, so it wouldn't fall apart as the surgeon extracted it.
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