Modern cataract surgery in the average patient now takes about 20 minutes or less, with the patient resuming normal activity shortly after surgery. The incision to remove the cataract is so small that stitches are usually unnecessary and healing is largely completed in a week or two. With the advent of microsurgery and the intraocular lens implant , cataracts no longer have to “ripen” and can be removed at any stage. A cataract need not be removed merely “because it is there” (the reason ascribed to the late Sir Edmund Hillary when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest) but is generally removed when it affects quality of life. Cataract surgery is accompanied by insertion of a clear, plastic intraocular lens (IOL) and is statistically the most successful operation performed on the human body.