Animals require a general anaesthetic to have their cataracts removed. While it is important to appreciate that every anaesthetic carries a risk, the risks associated with general anaesthesia are very small with modern anaesthetic agents and monitoring facilities.
Although we expect a 90% success rate, this means that around 10% of patients may still need to be successfully restored. There are many reasons why the surgery may not restore vision. Whenever surgery is performed inside the eye, the operation will cause inflammation inside the eye. Dogs’ eyes get much more inflammation following the operation than human eyes, which is why eye drops and other medications are so crucial. If an eye reacts badly to the surgery, it can get a lot of inflammation, which can lead to glaucoma (high pressure in the eye). If this does develop, it can usually be controlled by other medications. However, if the glaucoma is not able to be controlled, this can lead to blindness and, in some rare cases, even loss of the eye (just as in some unfortunate situations in humans). However, this is extremely rare and not something to panic about or dwell on, but it is vital to know beforehand that these risks exist. Glaucoma is the worst outcome for a post-operative eye. Still, other conditions can reduce the success rate, such as wound breakdown, retinal detachment, scarring and adhesions inside the eye, and clouding of the cornea. Sometimes, these situations can be resolved by a second procedure at an extra cost. Although it is essential to know these risks, most animals have good outcomes and excellent vision post-operatively.