We read with interest Zia et al’s article, which highlights a professional artist’s and a poet’s respective renditions of their visual experiences during phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation under local anaesthesia.¹ While it is unclear from the report whether the artist’s elaborate drawing resembling a “colourful monkey” was associated with a pleasant or frightening visual experience, it appears from the poem that the poet’s visual experience was most probably pleasant and delightful.

We have previously reported that the visual experience during cataract surgery under local anaesthesia can be frightening in up to 16.2% of patients.^2–8 The anxiety that may result from the …