Dr Rajesh Rajpal on Recovery From Cataract Surgery, Employer Considerations

Recovery from cataract surgery typically allows patients to still function and be able to complete light tasks in the first week, with patients able to resume normal schedules after this time, said Rajesh Rajpal, MD, chief medical officer, global head of clinical medical affairs, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Vision.

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For employers considering coverage of cataract surgery in their health plan, can you speak on the procedure’s recovery time?

Fortunately, cataract surgery is a relatively rapid recovery. It's outpatient surgery done under anesthesia that is topical, often with a mild sedative for the patient. And they can typically, by the next day, be able to still function and do daily activities with light, strenuous range, because they can still function with their other eye even while they're healing.

Usually it's just a day or 2 of down time, but then we ask patients to take it easy for the first week or so and then they're pretty much back to normal. Most commonly, patients will have surgery on each eye a week or two apart.