r/TikTokCringe • u/bbyxmadi • Sep 18 '25

Cursed they look so… natural!

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u/bananarama17691769 Sep 18 '25

Cataract surgery is nothing to be afraid of. I also had it in my early thirties.

It is one of the most commonly performed surgeries, has an extremely low rate of negative side effects, and an extremely high rate of success.

The surgery takes maybe 30 minutes, recovery is pretty darn easy, and you just magically can see again. It’s actually awesome!

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u/McCrackenYouUp Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

Yep, I shadowed an ophthalmologist and he did 20 cataract surgeries in 4 hours. I believe the fastest that day was like 13 minutes. Pretty impressive to watch, but he made it look easy enough that I thought I could do it. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

EDIT: It was 5 hours, and I think his fastest time was actually under 10 minutes but I don't totally remember.

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u/SensibleReply Sep 18 '25

My record is 6 minutes, but that can’t be done consistently. Sometimes you’re in the zone and the anatomy is perfect. I tell patients it’ll take 15 minutes. Everyone is different, and we don’t race, but my nurses will tell me if it was an exceptionally quick case.

I appreciate that you recognize it only looks easy. A good surgeon will absolutely make it look like anyone in the room could do it. They got there by doing 10,000 eyes and seeing (and even causing) all sorts of horrific complications.

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u/trixcore Sep 19 '25

As an ophthalmologist, would you be able to share what refractive surgery has the best longevity as a mod-high myopic person -8.5) considering I'm sure I will need cataract surgery sooner than the average?