Can I have laser eye surgery if I have a cataract?
Usually it is the wrong order. Laser vision correction changes the cornea, which makes the measurements used to choose a lens implant less predictable; if a cataract is already affecting your vision, replacing the lens addresses both problems at once.
- Subject
- Eye conditions
- Topic
- Cataract
- Kind of question
- Can I…
- Procedures
- Cataract surgery, LASIK
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
An early cataract that is not yet affecting vision is a different case, and some people in that position are treated. The deciding question is whether the lens will need replacing within the useful life of the laser correction.
What this answer depends on
- How much the cataract is affecting vision now
- Your age, and how long a laser result would be relied on
- What the measurements predict about the lens implant
Related guides
People also ask
The questions readers move to next from this one: the closest subjects first, from either question bank.
Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Eye conditions & diseases in Cataract . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure LASIK
- Procedure Femto LASIK
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs PRK
- Place LASIK in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Cataracts in adults: management (NG77)
Clinical guidance on when cataract surgery is indicated, what should be discussed before it, and what follow-up is expected.
Used for When cataract surgery is considered appropriate rather than cosmetic timing; What patients should be told before cataract surgery.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026