When is the right time to have cataract surgery?

The short answer is that the right time for cataract surgery is when your vision gets in the way of daily life or safety. At this point, new glasses typically don’t help, and an eye exam is able to confirm that the cataract is definitely the cause.

At Re:Vision in Auckland, we perform one of the highest volumes of cataract surgeries in New Zealand each year.

In this guide, we give you a rundown of exactly what cataract surgery is, the signs it’s time, when to act sooner, when it’s fine to wait, and the risks on each path. We also discuss your lens options, what the eye exam confirms, and how we can help.

What is Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery swaps your cloudy natural lens for a clear artificial lens. Your surgeon makes a tiny opening, softens and removes the cloudy lens with gentle ultrasound, and then places a new lens in the same spot. It’s a day procedure with numbing eye drops, not a general anaesthetic for most people. Colours look brighter and detail feels a lot sharper once your eye settles.

Cataract surgery is for people whose cataract/s now get in the way of safe driving, work, reading, or independent living. It also helps when glare from lights makes nights hard or when your script keeps changing but nothing clears your blurred vision.

4 clear signs it’s time for cataract surgery

You don’t need to wait for a 'certain age.' Be on the lookout for these everyday signs and how they affect your life:

1. Blurry vision that new glasses can’t fix: You update your script and still see a soft, foggy image. No matter what you do, sharp focus never arrives.
2. Glare or halos at night (starbursts from headlights): Headlights throw rings or flares and streetlights begin to smear. Night driving feels stressful and scary, and you start avoiding certain routes or times.
3. Washed-out colours, dim vision, or double vision in one eye: Blues and greens lose their punch and everything looks a bit brown or dull. You may see a ghost image in one eye, especially when looking at signs or reading fine print.
4. Frequent script changes and trouble with fine detail/reading: Your prescription shifts every few months, and close work becomes slow and challenging. You find yourself needing more light and bigger fonts just to get through simple tasks.

Safety triggers to act sooner

Some situations call for earlier cataract surgery. If any of these sound like you, don’t wait.

• Night driving becomes a safety risk: This is when headlights flare, signs blur, and judging distance gets hard. That puts you and others at risk.
• Work needs sharp vision: If you drive, use machinery, handle meds, or care for others, you need fast, reliable sight all day. Delaying can mean missing a competency check or, worse, a preventable injury at work.
• Falls risk is up or one eye carries the load: Stairs and kerbs feel dicey, and dim rooms easily throw you off. Surgery on the weaker eye can restore depth and steady your balance.

When waiting is reasonable

If life still runs smoothly, you can put cataract surgery on hold with a plan to review the situation. For instance, when:

• Symptoms are mild: You notice some blur or glare, but you still meet licence standards and manage daily tasks.
• Simple tweaks still help: Brighter lights, bigger fonts, high-contrast settings, and a fresh script keep you going.
• You and your surgeon set a review date: Book a check in 6–12 months. If night driving becomes harder, your script shifts again, or work gets too challenging, come back sooner.

Risks of waiting vs. having cataract surgery earlier

There’s a trade-off either way.

Waiting

The lens keeps hardening, which can make surgery take longer and need more ultrasound energy. A dense cataract also blocks a clear view of the retina, so problems like age-related macular degeneration or diabetic changes can hide. If you already have narrow drainage angles, the lens bulk can push the angle tighter and raise pressure for some people.

Vision usually keeps deteriorating too, which can eventually put driving and work standards at risk. Your surgeon will tell you whether waiting is still safe or if the balance has tipped.

Earlier

Going earlier means you take the small surgical risks now. These include infection (extremely rare), swelling that needs extra drops, a short-term pressure rise, or ending up a fraction off your target and needing a light glasses tweak. You still choose your lens either way; the difference is timing and planning. 

Earlier surgery lets us measure with the clearest view and often the most precise tools, which can keep more lens options on the table and get you the benefits sooner. You cut glare and blur earlier, stop the constant script changes, and get back to safe driving and normal routines faster. Most people feel more confident once vision settles.

Lens choices can also drive timing

Your lens choice can change the schedule in a few real ways:

• You need precise measurements: Premium options like toric, EDoF, or multifocal lenses work best with very accurate biometry and corneal scans. If the cataract gets too dense, we may have to switch to ultrasound measurements, which are fine but not as exact. So, we often bring surgery forward if you want one of these lenses.
• Contact lenses need a washout: Soft lenses usually come out for about a week before measurements. Rigid lenses may need two to four weeks. That pause can push the booking date, so we make sure to plan it early.
• Monovision needs a trial: If you’re considering one eye for distance and one for near, we test it with temporary contact lenses for a week or two. That trial helps you avoid regret, and it sets the surgery timetable.
• Both-eye timing depends on the lens: EDoF and multifocal lenses work best as a pair. So, we usually schedule the second eye soon after the first to balance vision. With straight monofocal distance lenses, we can space the eyes out a little more if your work (or otherwise) schedule needs it.
• Dry eye can delay accurate numbers: A rough tear film throws off corneal readings, which matters most for toric and premium lenses. A simple dry-eye tune-up for two to six weeks gets the surface right and locks in better measurements before we set dates.

What an Eye Exam Can Confirm

You have this exam before you book your cataract surgery. We check your best-corrected vision to see what glasses can and can’t fix. We test glare and contrast to see how lights and low-contrast scenes behave. We also examine the lens at the slit lamp and grade the cataract.

Then, we measure the eye for lens choice, including corneal shape and length. We check the pressure and the front of the eye, and also look at the retina, often with an OCT scan, to rule out other causes of blur. If the cataract explains your symptoms and the rest of the eye looks healthy, we set dates and lock in a lens plan.

Cataract Surgery in Auckland

If your sight now gets in the way, our Auckland laser eye clinic is here to help. At Re:Vision, we run a dedicated day-case theatre in Mt Wellington, where our specialist eye surgeons perform modern cataract surgery with small incisions and quick recovery.

Re:Vision was founded in 2018. The team includes Dr Trevor Gray, Dr Mo Ziaei, Dr Divya Perumal, and Dr Simon Dean. You can have total peace of mind knowing that you'll be looked after by an experienced group that does this work every single day.

We also keep the pathway to cataract surgery simple. Your assessment checks vision, glare and contrast, cataract grade, and retinal health. Then we talk about lens options and timing for one eye and the other. If you’re a good candidate, we can discuss sequential bilateral cataract surgery, which shortens the overall timeline for some people. You leave with costs, dates, and follow-up information.

Ready to find out if it’s time?

Book a comprehensive cataract assessment at our Mt Wellington clinic. You’ll get straightforward answers, a lens plan that fits how you live, and a timeline you can rely on.