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Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery in Gurgaon

Phacoemulsification — “phaco” for short — is the technique used for the overwhelming majority of cataract surgery performed today, and for almost every cataract we operate at Dayal Eye Centre. The clouded lens is broken up by ultrasound energy and removed through an incision of about 2.2 mm; a foldable intraocular lens goes in through the same opening. No stitches. Day care. Usually 10 to 15 minutes.

NABH Accredited
20+ Years
80,000+ Cataract Surgeries by our Director
Stitchless, Day Care
The Technique

What Is Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery?

Phacoemulsification is a keyhole technique for removing a cataract. Rather than taking the clouded lens out whole — which is what the older manual techniques required, and which meant a wide incision and stitches — phaco uses a fine ultrasonic probe to break the lens into tiny fragments inside the eye and aspirate them out through a wound barely wider than 2 mm.

Because the natural lens capsule is left in place, there is a bag ready to hold the artificial lens exactly where your own lens used to sit. The IOL is folded, passed through the same small incision, and unfolds into position. That is the whole architecture of the operation, and it is why phaco replaced the older techniques almost entirely.

The word itself is descriptive: phaco (lens) + emulsification (breaking into small particles). Nothing is lasered away, nothing is removed from the eye that shouldn’t be, and nothing is added except the lens implant.

Why the Incision Size Matters

The 2.2 mm figure is not a marketing number; it is the reason the rest of the experience is what it is.

It seals itself. A wound that small closes under the eye’s own internal pressure. No sutures means no suture removal, no suture-induced astigmatism, and nothing to irritate the eye while it heals.

The eye’s shape is barely disturbed. Large incisions flatten the cornea along the line of the wound and induce astigmatism. A 2.2 mm incision induces very little — which is what makes accurate refractive results possible in the first place.

Healing is fast. Most patients are seeing usefully within hours and back to routine work within days rather than weeks.

It makes premium lenses viable. A toric or multifocal IOL only performs as designed if it sits stably in a capsular bag in an eye whose shape has not been altered by the surgery. That is a phaco advantage before it is a lens advantage.

Planned Before It Starts

How Is Phacoemulsification Performed at Dayal Eye Centre?

Everything that decides your result happens before the operation starts. Your IOL power is calculated from optical biometry on the Zeiss IOL Master 700; corneal shape and astigmatism are mapped on the OCULUS Pentacam; iTRACE ray-tracing separates how much of your blur comes from the cornea and how much from the lens; and a dilated retinal examination with OCT confirms the macula is healthy enough to deliver the vision the lens is capable of. Only then is a lens chosen.

More on our pre-operative assessment

Step by Step, From Numbing Drops to Lens Implant

Every step is completed in one sitting — a day-care procedure, usually 10 to 15 minutes.

1

Anaesthesia

In almost all our cases, anaesthetic drops alone. No injection, no bandage. You stay awake and can talk to the surgeon.

2

The main incision

A self-sealing incision of about 2.2 mm at the edge of the cornea, plus one or two smaller side ports for instruments.

3

Viscoelastic

A clear protective gel is injected to maintain the shape of the eye and shield the corneal endothelium — the delicate inner cell layer that does not regenerate — throughout the procedure.

4

Capsulorhexis

A precise circular opening is torn in the front face of the lens capsule. Its size and centration determine how the IOL sits for the rest of your life, which is why it is one of the most skill-dependent steps in ophthalmic surgery.

5

Hydrodissection

Fluid is gently injected to separate the cataract from the capsule so it can rotate freely.

6

Emulsification

The phaco probe delivers ultrasound energy to break the nucleus into fragments, which are aspirated as they are created. A dense cataract needs more energy and time — one reason we advise against leaving a cataract for a decade.

7

Cortical clean-up

The softer remaining lens material is irrigated and aspirated out, leaving a clear capsular bag.

8

IOL implantation

The foldable lens is injected through the same 2.2 mm incision and unfolds into the bag. A toric lens is then rotated to a pre-planned axis.

9

Sealing

The viscoelastic is removed and the wound is hydrated so it seals. Intracameral antibiotic prophylaxis is given.

The eye is checked, a shield is applied, and you go home.

MICS

Microincision Cataract Surgery — the Same Principle, a Smaller Wound

MICS is phacoemulsification performed through an even narrower incision, using instrumentation designed for the smaller gauge. The logic is the same, taken one step further: a smaller wound means less induced astigmatism and a marginally quicker seal.

We use it in selected eyes where minimising the wound is clinically worthwhile. It is not automatically better for every eye — a smaller instrument moves less fluid, and in a very dense cataract that can mean a longer procedure. Your surgeon will tell you which applies to yours.

Who It Suits

Who Is a Candidate for Phacoemulsification?

Most people with a visually significant cataract are. Phaco is the default technique, and the assessment is less about whether you can have it and more about confirming nothing makes it unsuitable. You are likely to be a candidate if:

Your cataract has begun to interfere with reading, driving — particularly at night — or everyday tasks.

The cataract is of a density the phaco probe can safely emulsify.

The zonules (the fibres suspending the lens) and the lens capsule are intact.

Your corneal endothelial cell count is adequate for ultrasound energy inside the eye.

Any systemic conditions — diabetes, hypertension — are controlled, and any active eye infection has been treated.

When We Would Not Recommend Phaco

There are eyes in which phacoemulsification is the wrong choice, and we would rather tell you so than proceed.

A hypermature or rock-hard cataract. A lens left to harden for many years may need so much ultrasound energy that the safer route is a manual technique — ECCE, where the lens is removed in one piece through a larger incision. Slower to heal, but the right operation for that eye.

Weak or absent zonular support — after trauma, in pseudoexfoliation, or in certain connective-tissue conditions. Without a stable capsular bag the standard implant plan changes.

A compromised cornea. A low endothelial cell count, or established corneal disease, changes both the technique and the expected visual outcome. This is where Dr. Hem Shah, our cornea and phaco surgeon, is involved from the assessment onwards.

Uncontrolled systemic disease or an active ocular infection — treated first, operated later.

Being told “not this technique” is not being told “not treatable”. It usually means a different operation, and we will explain which and why.

Technique Comparison

How Does Phacoemulsification Compare With Other Cataract Techniques?

PhacoemulsificationMICSFLACSECCEICCE
Incision~2.2 mm, self-sealingSmaller than standard phaco~2.2 mm; laser-madeLarge, suturedLarge, sutured
How the lens is removedUltrasound emulsificationUltrasound emulsificationLaser pre-fragmentation, then ultrasoundRemoved in one piece, capsule retainedLens and capsule removed together
StitchesNoneNoneNoneYesYes
AnaesthesiaDrops in almost all casesDropsDropsUsually injectionUsually injection
Typical surgical time10–15 minutes10–15 minutesLonger — laser stage plus phaco stageLongerLonger
Visual recoveryDaysDaysDaysWeeksWeeks
Where it is usedThe standard for most cataractsSelected eyesSelected eyes; bladeless optionVery dense / hypermature cataractsRare; absent zonular support

On phaco versus FLACS specifically

This is the comparison patients ask about most, and the honest answer is that the large randomised evidence has not found the laser produces better vision. A 2023 Cochrane review of 42 randomised trials covering 7,298 eyes concluded there is “probably little or no difference between FLACS and PCS in terms of intraoperative and postoperative complications, postoperative visual acuity and quality of life” — and that phacoemulsification may be the more cost-effective option. A 2025 meta-analysis of 46 randomised trials (8,871 eyes) reached the same conclusion, finding a short-term advantage for FLACS at one week that had disappeared at every later timepoint.

That does not make FLACS pointless — it makes it a technique with specific indications rather than a universal upgrade.

Read the full FLACS page
The Implant

Which Lens Goes In After the Cataract Comes Out?

Phacoemulsification is compatible with every category of intraocular lens, which is precisely why it is the standard technique — the choice of lens stays open.

Monofocal

Excellent distance vision; reading glasses still needed.

Toric

Corrects corneal astigmatism as well as spherical power. A meta-analysis of 13 randomised trials (1,413 eyes) found toric IOLs give better uncorrected distance vision, about 0.37 D less residual astigmatism and greater spectacle independence than non-toric lenses, without a significant increase in complications (Kessel et al., Ophthalmology, 2016).

Multifocal / trifocal

Reduces spectacle dependence at the cost of more frequent halos and glare. The Cochrane review of 20 trials is explicit that this is a preference decision, not a quality ladder.

Accommodating

Adjusts focus; does not correct astigmatism by itself.

The full comparison table, with limitations and price bands, is on the main cataract page and the cataract cost page.

Recovery

Recovery After Phacoemulsification Surgery

What to expect, day by day.

Hours 0–6

Because we operate under drop anaesthesia and do not routinely pad the eye, most patients begin to see within a few hours. Expect grittiness, watering and mild redness.

Day 1

You are seen at the centre. Vision is usually already improved. Your eye-drop schedule starts in earnest — antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops, tapering over about four weeks.

Days 2–3

Normal diet from the day of surgery. Shaving, morning walks, head bath and driving from around day three, once your doctor confirms at follow-up.

Week 1

No water splashed on the face; clean with a damp cloth or wipes. Head bath after one week. Kitchen work from around day seven. Screens and television within one to two weeks — sunglasses if there is glare.

Weeks 2–3

Yoga and gym from two to three weeks.

Week 4

Healing is generally complete. If you need spectacles, the prescription is given four to six weeks after your final surgery, once the eye is stable.

The second eye

If needed, is usually scheduled once the first has healed — commonly a few days to two weeks later.

Call us immediately — do not wait for your next appointment — for increasing pain, a sudden drop in vision, spreading redness or discharge. +91 81786 39701.

Individual recovery varies with age, eye health, cataract density, the lens implanted and adherence to post-operative care. Your surgeon will give you instructions specific to your eye.

Honest Risk Disclosure

Risks and Complications of Phacoemulsification

Phacoemulsification is among the most performed and most refined operations in medicine. It is still surgery.

Endophthalmitis — infection inside the eye. The most serious complication and the rarest. A meta-analysis covering 5.8 million eyes put the pooled incidence at 0.092% overall, falling to 0.045% — roughly 1 in 2,200 — where intracameral antibiotic prophylaxis is used (Shi, Yu & Shentu, Int J Ophthalmol, 2022).

Posterior capsule tear — a break in the thin membrane behind the lens during surgery. It may change where the IOL is placed and lengthen the procedure.

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) — clouding of that membrane months or years afterwards. Not a returning cataract. Treated in the clinic with a Nd:YAG laser in seconds. Registry analysis of 89,947 eyes found Nd:YAG capsulotomy in 4.1% of monofocal and 21.2% of diffractive multifocal/EDOF implants (Horn et al., Clinical Ophthalmology, 2022).

Corneal oedema — temporary swelling, more likely where the endothelium was already compromised or where a dense cataract needed more ultrasound energy.

Raised intraocular pressure — usually short-lived and managed with drops.

Cystoid macular oedema — swelling at the macula that can blur vision some weeks after surgery; treatable.

Retinal detachment — uncommon; more likely in highly myopic eyes.

Residual refractive error — biometry is precise but not perfect; a small spectacle correction may still be needed.

All surgical procedures carry inherent risks, including infection, bleeding, and rarely, loss of vision. Not every patient is a suitable candidate. Your surgeon will discuss the risks and benefits that apply to your eye during your consultation.

Why Us

Why Choose Dayal Eye Centre for Phacoemulsification?

Volume, in this exact operation

80,000+ cataract surgeries by our Director; 1.2 lakh+ eye surgeries across the centre in 20+ years. Phaco is a technique where the number of times a surgeon has done it shows.

Fellowship-trained in phaco

Dr. Sanjeev Bisla holds a PHACO fellowship from Aravind Eye Hospital; Dr. Hem Shah trained in cornea and anterior segment at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai.

A senior surgeon operates

The doctor who assesses you is the doctor who operates on you.

NABH accreditation

Three modular operation theatres, and an in-patient ward on site.

Both techniques available

Because we also have a femtosecond platform, the choice between phaco and FLACS is made on clinical grounds, not on what the hospital owns.

Cashless insurance, schemes & Easy EMI

Government schemes and Easy EMI, with our billing team handling the paperwork.

The Measurement Kit Behind the Result

Zeiss IOL Master 700 optical biometry · OCULUS Pentacam corneal tomography · iTRACE ray-tracing aberrometry · RTVue FD-OCT macular imaging · Humphrey Field Analyzer where glaucoma is also present. All on site, all before your lens is selected.

See our equipment

Your Surgeon

Director & Chief Ophthalmologist

Dr. Sanjeev Bisla

MBBS (GMC Miraj); MS Ophthalmology (PGIMS Rohtak); fellowships in PHACO and Glaucoma, Aravind. 23 years; 80,000+ cataract surgeries.
Cornea & Phaco Surgeon

Dr. Hem Shah

DNB Ophthalmology; cornea and anterior segment specialisation, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. Phaco, femto cataract, SICS, ECCE; multifocal and toric implantation.
Consultant

Dr. Ankita Narula

MS Ophthalmology (Silchar Medical College); published on cataract surgery and orbital implants. Cataract evaluation and advanced lens implantation.

All our cataract surgeons
Transparent Pricing

Phacoemulsification Cost in Gurgaon

Phacoemulsification at Dayal Eye Centre starts from ₹20,000 per eye, with the total depending far more on the intraocular lens you and your surgeon choose than on the surgical step itself.

Phacoemulsification surgery
Starting from ₹20,000 / eye
Microincision cataract surgery (MICS)
Starting from ₹30,000 / eye
Full cataract price list, lens-by-lens breakdown, insurance and EMI

Prices shown are approximate and may vary based on individual patient needs, complexity of case, and procedures performed. Final pricing will be determined after a complete consultation and examination. Prices do not include any additional tests or treatments that may be medically necessary. Insurance coverage varies by plan. They are not a quotation.

References

The Evidence Behind What We Tell You

  1. Narayan A, Evans JR, O’Brart D, Bunce C, Gore DM, Day AC. Laser-assisted cataract surgery versus standard ultrasound phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 6, CD010735.
  2. Lee SH, Chen YC, Tsai PC, et al. Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery versus conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Scientific Reports 2025;15:27569.
  3. Shi SL, Yu XN, Shentu XC. Incidence of endophthalmitis after phacoemulsification cataract surgery: a meta-analysis. Int J Ophthalmol 2022;15(2):327–335.
  4. Horn JD, Fisher BL, Terveen D, et al. IRIS Registry analysis of laser capsulotomy for posterior capsule opacification. Clinical Ophthalmology 2022;16:1721–1730.
  5. Kessel L, Andresen J, Tendal B, et al. Toric intraocular lenses in the correction of astigmatism during cataract surgery. Ophthalmology 2016;123(2):275–286.
  6. de Silva SR, Evans JR, Kirthi V, Ziaei M, Leyland M. Multifocal versus monofocal intraocular lenses after cataract extraction. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, CD003169.
  7. Lundström M, Barry P, Henry Y, Rosen P, Stenevi U. Evidence-based guidelines for cataract surgery (EUREQUO). J Cataract Refract Surg 2012;38(6):1086–1093.
Our editorial and medical review policy
FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

For most surgeons today, phacoemulsification is normal cataract surgery. The distinction people usually mean is between phaco and the older manual techniques — ECCE and ICCE — where the lens was removed whole through a large, sutured incision. Phaco removes it through a self-sealing 2.2 mm opening using ultrasound, with no stitches and a much faster recovery.

No. Phacoemulsification uses ultrasound energy, not a laser, to break up the cataract. The technique that adds a laser to the first steps of the operation is FLACS — femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery — which still uses phacoemulsification to remove the lens material.

Usually 10 to 15 minutes for the surgery itself. Including preparation and a short recovery period, plan for a few hours at the centre. It is a day-care procedure.

Not in a routine case. The 2.2 mm incision seals under the eye’s own pressure. Stitches are only used if something about the wound or the eye makes them necessary, and your surgeon will tell you if that has happened.

Yes, provided the diabetes is well controlled. A large proportion of our cataract patients are diabetic and are operated safely. We check blood sugar before surgery, examine the retina carefully — diabetes roughly doubles the odds of cataract and often coexists with retinopathy — and set expectations about the vision achievable if retinopathy is present.

Most people doing desk or light work return within a few days to a week, and screen work is usually comfortable within one to two weeks. Physically demanding work, gym and yoga wait two to three weeks. Your surgeon will confirm at your follow-up.

Find Out Whether Phaco Is the Right Technique for Your Eye

The technique is chosen on your measurements — the density of your cataract, the state of your cornea, and the support behind your lens. A cataract evaluation gives you all three, along with an honest answer about which operation suits your eye and what it would cost.

Consult With Our Doctors
Call +91 81786 39701
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Dayal Eye Centre · 808 B, Galaxy Road, Sector 15 Part 2, Near 32nd Avenue, Gurugram, Haryana 122001 · Mon–Sat 8:30 AM – 7:30 PM · wecare@dayaleyecentre.in

Reviewed by Dr. Sanjeev Bisla, MS (Ophthalmology), Director & Chief Ophthalmologist — Dayal Eye Centre · Last reviewed: 28 July 2026 · Editorial Policy

This page is for information only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Individual results vary. To find out what applies to your eyes, consult with our doctors at Dayal Eye Centre.