Extracapsular surgery is a procedure which consists of undergoing a microscope surgery to remove the lens, but leaving the back half of the capsule, or the outer covering of the lens, whole. High frequency sound waves, through, phacoemulsification may be used to soften the lens to help removing it through a smaller cut.

In extracapsular surgery, the doctor makes a longer incision on the side of the cornea and removes the cloudy core of the lens in one piece. The rest of the lens is removed by suction. After the natural lens has been removed, it often is replaced by an artificial lens, called an intraocular lens. An IOL is a clear, plastic lens that requires no care and becomes a permanent part of your eye. Light is focused clearly by the IOL onto the retina, improving your vision. Some people however cannot have an IOL. They may have another eye disease or have problems during surgery. For these patients, a soft contact lens, or glasses that provide high magnification, may be suggested.

There are actually two types of extracapsular surgery. The decision about which one to use depends on what kind of cataract you have and how much experience the surgeon has with each type of microscope surgery.

Extracapsular surgery using phacoemulsification is the first type of extracapsular surgery. In this type of surgery, the incision is small, and sound waves, by ultrasound, are used to break up the lens into small pieces. Currently, this is the most common method of doing cataract surgery.

The second type of cataract microscope surgery extracapsular cataract extraction or the ECCE procedure. In this type of surgery, the lens and the front portion of the plastic like membrane wrapped around the lens is opened. The lens is then carefully removed in one piece.