Question: What does cateracts do to the eye?

Omar Mahroo answered on 1 Feb 2019:

Cataract is when the lens inside the front of the eye becomes cloudy. It happens in everyone with age. When it gets very cloudy, it’s difficult to see. The lens can be removed, and this can improve the vision a bit, and surgeons have been doing that for hundreds of years. In 1950, Harold Ridley decided to try replacing the lens with an artificial one (this was suggested by a medical student!). Within a short time, they got the technique right, and patients could see really well after surgery. It’s one of the commonest operations in the world, and one of the most satisfying operations to do as a surgeon, as patients can see really well afterwards.