Dr Jayant V Iyer, Dr Jason Lee, Dr Audrey Pang and Dr Laurence Lim Shen at the reception of The Straits Eye Centre.

Cataract in Singapore

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s own lens — part of how the eye ages rather than something you catch. It is found on an eye examination, and surgery is what clears it.

Clouding inside the eye, not a film over it
Blurred vision, glare and washed-out colour
Removed as day surgery under local anaesthesia

Ask about your eyes Call 9295 2595

Camden (Orchard)Joo ChiatClementiBedokToa PayohJurong

Cataract surgery by senior consultant eye surgeons

Lens options and fees are discussed at your consultation.
MediSave & insurance claimable

MediSave, Corporate and Personal Insurance can be used towards eligible surgery.
Minimal waiting time for treatment or surgery

Vision loss can worsen with delay and may be irreversible. Poor vision also raises the risk of falls and fractures.

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What a cataract is

A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye — the clear part behind the pupil that brings things into focus. It usually comes on slowly with age and makes vision hazy.

It is not a growth or a film over the eye, and does not spread from one eye to the other. Both eyes are usually affected in time, but rarely at the same pace, so the better eye can hide the change for a while.

There are three main types, named for where in the lens the clouding starts. Each affects vision differently, and many eyes have more than one.

Nuclear — clouding in the centre
Cortical — clouding from the edge inwards
Posterior subcapsular — clouding at the back

Worldwide, 17.2% of all adults have a cataract, and by old age almost everyone does.

Concerned about cataracts or vision loss? Talk to our friendly staff for a same-day appointment (subject to availability).

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How a cataract affects vision

A clouded lens scatters light, so the change is rarely a simple blur.

Haze that glasses do not fix
Glare and haloes around lights
Dull or yellowish colours
Needing more light to read

Which of these comes first depends on where the clouding sits, not how far it has gone. Eyesight can still test well on a chart while night driving has become hard.

A cataract almost always changes slowly. Sudden changes in sight, eye pain, or a shower of new floaters or flashes are not typical of a cataract and should be checked promptly.

The types of cataract

Named for where in the lens the clouding starts.

Nuclear: Forms in the centre of the lens and is the one most associated with ageing. It yellows as it thickens, so colours wash out and distance vision goes first. It is usually the slowest of the three to change.
Cortical: Forms as spokes at the outer edge of the lens and works inwards. Glare and scattered light are the common complaints; it can be well advanced at the edges before the centre of vision is touched.
Posterior subcapsular: Forms as a patch at the back of the lens, under the capsule. It sits directly in the visual axis, so even a small one affects reading and vision in bright light first, often more than distance vision. It tends to be the fastest of the three to change.

Share of adults with each type

Nuclear 8.2%
Cortical 8.1%
Posterior subcapsular 2.2%

Pooled from 45 studies of 161,947 people worldwide. These are global figures, not Singaporean ones, and they count adults of every age together.

Compare the three types

What causes a cataract

Ageing causes most cataracts. The lens adds new layers all through life and never sheds the old ones, so over decades it thickens and clouds — in every eye, at its own pace.

These are linked to getting a cataract earlier or worse:

Diabetes
Smoking
Long-term steroids
Sunlight
Severe short-sightedness
Eye injury, inflammation or surgery

Some can be changed and some cannot. Changing one does not clear a cataract that is already there.

See what causes cataracts in full

How a cataract is diagnosed

By examination. There is no home test that settles it.

A cataract is confirmed by looking at the lens through a slit lamp, usually after drops to widen the pupil. What a slit lamp examination involves is set out with the rest of the eye tests.

A clinician examining a patient’s eye at a slit lamp. — A slit-lamp examination at The Straits Eye Centre. The microscope gives a magnified view into the lens, which is how a cataract is found.

What else the examination checks

How well you see
The pressure inside the eye
The retina and optic nerve at the back of the eye

Blurring, glare and dull colours can also come from dry eye, changes at the macula, diabetic eye disease or an out-of-date prescription, and more than one can be present at once. Only an examination can tell them apart.

Where to have it checked

At our Clementi, Bedok, Toa Payoh and Jurong clinics, a cataract screening looks at the lens and a general eye check-up covers the eye more broadly. Both are senior optometrist-led, and the report is reviewed by an ophthalmologist.

How a cataract is treated

No drop, tablet, supplement or eye exercise clears a cataract. The only treatment is surgery to remove the cataract. Offered eye drops? Read what the research found.

Not every cataract needs surgery straight away. An early one can often be managed with new glasses and brighter lighting, sometimes for years. When to have surgery depends on how much the cataract gets in the way of everyday things, such as driving at night or reading — not on how cloudy the lens looks.

Dr Jayant V Iyer operating at a microscope in an operating theatre. — Dr Jayant V Iyer at the operating microscope. Surgery inside the eye is done under magnification.

What the operation involves

The clouded lens is removed through a small opening and replaced with an artificial one, as day surgery under local anaesthesia, one eye at a time. The two main questions are which lens goes in and what it costs, MediSave included. Recovery takes weeks, not months, for most people.

What surgery does not treat

Cataract surgery treats the lens only. It will not undo damage from glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease or an optic nerve problem, though a clear lens often makes these easier to monitor.

Cataract Treatment Cost in Singapore

Cataract surgery at The Straits Eye Centre is between $5,200 and $12,000 per eye, before MediSave. The Straits Eye Centre is a MediSave-approved clinic.

Service	Per eye
Cataract surgery by senior eye surgeons	$5,200–12,000
MediSave withdrawal limit	up to $3,280

Figures are per eye at The Straits Eye Centre, before MediSave. Withdrawal limit subject to approval by the CPF Board.

The final range depends on the lens, whether laser assistance is used, and your insurance status. Every operation is performed by one of our senior consultant eye surgeons. See the full cost breakdown

Eye specialists who treat cataracts

Cataract surgery at The Straits Eye Centre is performed by our senior consultant eye surgeons, with more than 60 years in ophthalmology between them. Talk to us for a quick appointment.

99%+

cataract surgery success rate at The Straits Eye Centre.

Dr Jayant V Iyer

Senior Consultant & Medical Director
The Straits Eye Centre

MBBS · GDFM · MMed (Ophth) · FRCOphth · FAMS
Dr Jason Lee

Senior Consultant & Medical Director
The Straits Eye Centre

MBBS · BMedSc · MMed (Ophth) · FRCOphth · FAMS
Dr Audrey Pang

Senior Consultant Eye Surgeon
The Straits Eye Centre

MBBChir (Cambridge) · MMed (Singapore) · FRCOphth (London) · FAMS
Dr Laurence Lim Shen

Senior Consultant Eye Specialist and Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon
The Straits Eye Centre

MBBS (S’pore) · MRCS (Edin) · FRCS (Edin) · FAMS

Guide: choosing a surgeon

Common questions

What is a cataract?

A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye — the clear disc behind the pupil that focuses light onto the retina. As its proteins change with age the lens scatters light instead of passing it cleanly, so vision dulls, glare increases and colours wash out.

Can a cataract be treated without surgery?

No. Nothing clears a lens that has already clouded — not drops, tablets, supplements, eye exercises or a change of diet. Stronger glasses and better lighting can make an early cataract easier to live with, but they correct the focus rather than the clouding. Removing the cataract surgically is the only treatment that restores the clarity of the lens.

Do eye drops clear a cataract?

No drop licensed for use in people clears a cataract. Products sold online as cataract drops, including those based on N-acetylcarnosine or lanosterol, are not approved treatments and there is no reliable evidence that they reverse clouding in the human lens. Drops do have a part to play after cataract surgery, which is a different thing entirely.

Can a cataract cause blindness?

A cataract left long enough can reduce sight to the point of blindness, and untreated cataract remains the commonest cause of blindness worldwide. The difference from a condition such as glaucoma is that the sight a cataract takes is not lost permanently — removing the clouded lens restores what the cataract itself was blocking.

At what age do cataracts start?

Changes in the lens begin decades before anyone notices them, and most people first have symptoms in their sixties or seventies. Prevalence climbs steeply with age: about 3.9% of 55 to 64-year-olds have a cataract, against 92.6% of those aged 80 and over. Cataracts do occur in younger adults and in children, usually with a reason behind them.

How common are cataracts?

Very. Pooling 45 studies of 161,947 people worldwide, 17.2% of adults had a cataract of one type or another, counting adults of every age together. Those are global figures rather than Singaporean ones.

Can a cataract go away on its own?

No. A clouded lens does not clear again, and cataracts tend to progress, though the pace varies widely from eye to eye. Vision can seem to fluctuate along the way — a changing prescription, or a bright day against a dull one — but the clouding itself does not reverse.

When does a cataract need to be removed?

When it stops you doing something you need to do — driving comfortably at night, reading, recognising faces, working. There is no fixed threshold and no need to wait until a cataract is “ripe”, which is older advice from an era of different surgical technique. The decision is made from your vision, your examination and what you need your eyes to do.