Cataract Surgery and Dry Eye: What You Should Know

Dry eye disease and cataracts are both common age-related eye conditions. In fact, they often occur together, and they can affect each other in important ways.¹ If you’re preparing for cataract surgery, understanding the connection between dry eye disease and surgical outcomes is key to helping you achieve your preferred visual outcome after the procedure.

What Is Dry Eye?

As we get older, our eyes produce fewer and lower-quality tears that can’t provide adequate lubrication for your eyes. This damages the eye’s surface, or cornea, and leads to inflammation and symptoms such as:²

• A burning, stinging, or scratchy sensation in your eyes
• Blurry vision that improves with blinking
• A gritty feeling like sand is in your eye
• Eye redness or stringy mucus in or around your eyes
• Watery eyes
• Eye fatigue
• Sensitivity to light
• Difficulty wearing contact lenses
• Difficulty driving at night

If you suspect you have dry eye or are experiencing any related symptoms, it is important to talk to your eye care provider before undergoing cataract surgery. During your pre-surgery evaluation, your provider will ask about dry eye symptoms and also perform a clinical assessment to check for signs of dry eye. This step is crucial because some patients may not feel any symptoms, yet still have underlying clinical signs of dry eye that can only be detected through a proper examination. If dry eye is present, starting a treatment regimen before surgery is important, as managing the condition in advance can improve surgical outcomes and overall comfort.

How Cataract Surgery Can Affect Dry Eye

Cataract surgery is safe and effective, but it can temporarily worsen your pre-existing dry eye symptoms, or introduce new ones. This is due to the surgical disruption of the eye’s surface, the bright light from the operating microscope used during your cataract surgery procedure, and prescription medications that are used after cataract surgery such as steroid and antibiotic eye drops.^3-6 These may all cause temporary changes in tear production that usually improve with time and proper care.⁷ If dry eye symptoms go unmanaged, however, it can interfere with healing and visual clarity.

A healthy tear film is essential for sharp vision. When the eye’s surface is dry or irritated, light scatters before it reaches the retina, which reduces image quality and makes performing measurements for postoperative adjustments difficult. To help ensure sharp image quality with any intraocular lens, including the RxSight Light Adjustable Lens® (LAL®), a treatment for dry eye may be required before and after surgery to give the surface of your eye time to heal from surgery. Additionally, it is important for your eye’s surface to be in the best condition possible for precise light adjustments.

Protecting Your Eye Health After Surgery

You will progress through three phases of care after cataract surgery with the LAL, including postoperative healing, vision customization, and lock-in. The following are key considerations for each phase:

Postoperative healing. It’s normal for your vision to be blurry or hazy and for you to feel mild irritation for a few days after surgery. This is part of the healing process. In addition to the use of the RxSight UV-protective glasses, it’s important to follow the eye drop instructions provided by your eye care team to optimize healing. These include prescription drops to prevent infection and promote healing as well as artificial tears to maintain a healthy ocular surface.

Vision customization. While you and your eye doctor work together to adjust your vision to your liking, it is important to maintain your eye drop regimen to promote a healthy ocular surface throughout the light adjustment process.

Lock-in. Once you are happy with your vision, it’s now time to lock in the lens power. It’s important that your ocular surface is as healthy as possible to achieve the optimal outcome.

To minimize dry eye symptoms and promote a healthy ocular surface after cataract surgery and throughout the light adjustment process, adhere to these recommendations:

• Follow your eye doctor’s instructions for postoperative eye drops. These drops reduce inflammation, prevent infection, and keep the surface of your eye healthy.
• Use artificial tears as recommended.
• Avoid excessive screen time in the early healing period, as it can reduce blinking.
• Report persistent discomfort to your surgeon promptly.

The Bottom Line

Dry eye and cataracts often go hand-in-hand, but with proper care before and after surgery, you can protect your comfort, vision, and long-term eye health. If you choose the RxSight Light Adjustable Lens, keeping your eyes healthy will help you get the clearest, most precise results possible.

1. Donthineni PR, Deshmukh R, Ramamurthy C, et al. Management of cataract in dry eye disease: preferred practice pattern guidelines. In J Ophthalmol. 2023;71(4):1364-1372.
2. Mayo Clinic. Dry eyes. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-eyes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371863
3. Ishrat S, Nema N, Chandravanshi SCL. Incidence and pattern of dry eye after cataract surgery. Saudi J Ophthalmol. 2018;33(10):34-40.
4. Sutu C, Fukuoka H, Afshari NA Mechanisms and management of dry eye in cataract surgery patients. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2016;27:24-30.
5. Cho YK, Kim MS. Dry eye after cataract surgery and associated intraoperative risk factors. Korean J Ophthalmol. 2009;23:65-73.
6. Li XM, Hu L, Hu J, Wang W. Investigation of dry eye disease and analysis of the pathogenic factors in patients after cataract surgery. Cornea. 2007;26(9 Suppl 1):S16-S20.
7. Yao K, Bao Y, Ye J. Efficacy of 1% carboxymethylcellulose sodium for treating dry eye after phacoemulsification results from a multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled study. BMC Ophthalmol. 2015;15:28.