Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed elective surgery in many countries including the United Kingdom.¹ With the majority of procedures performed under local anaesthesia, it is important for surgeons to recognise if patients are indeed visually aware of their environment. Understanding their experience would be a step forward in providing the safest and the most effective ophthalmic care to cataract patients.

Clinical significance of patients’ visual experience lies in the fact that a large number of patients are frightened by their experience, which potentially leads to a number of problems. …