Whether your surgery takes place in a hospital or surgery center, you can expect the operating room, equipment and tools used to be the same.

Your doctor will be an ophthalmologist trained in eye surgery – and cataract surgery in particular. He or she will lead a team that includes a technician and a nurse and possibly other assisting staff.

The operating room will be treated to prevent infection, just the same as it would for any major surgical procedure. The surgical team will wear scrubs, gloves and masks to help preserve this sterile environment. Many surgeons also opt to use surgical kits with disposable surgical tools and solutions that further limit the odds of spreading infection.

After you have been given numbing drops for your eye, you will be able to hear the sounds of the instruments and your doctor, nurse and technician talking, but you probably won't be able to see them.

As your doctor inserts your new artificial lens toward the end of the procedure, the microscope light may become very bright.