白内障手术是一种眼科手术，其目的是为了去除已经混浊的晶体，并装入透明的人工晶体，以取代天然晶体的作用。

古代从印度传入的一种治疗白内障的手术方法是“金针拨障”，就是用针将晶体周围的悬韧带拨断，造成晶体的脱位，游离的晶体下沉到玻璃体腔内，原先被混浊的晶体阻挡的光线就可以进入眼内。金针拨障只能暂时的解决部分的问题，由于没有了晶体屈光作用，患者相当于19D（1900度）左右的远视，晶体沉入玻璃体腔后，难免会发生炎症，最终导致视力的完全丧失。

Cataract surgery is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called "crystalline lens") that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract. Metabolic changes of the crystalline lens fibers over time lead to the development of the cataract and loss of transparency, causing impairment or loss of vision. Many patients' first symptoms are strong glare from lights and small light sources at night, along with reduced acuity at low light levels. During cataract surgery, a patient's cloudy natural cataract lens is removed and replaced with a synthetic lens to restore the lens's transparency.