Our surgical facility has been providing cataract surgery services since 2018 and has performed over 8000 operations. We are committed to delivering safe, modern, and personalised eye care using the latest surgical techniques and technology.
We offer same-day bilateral cataract surgery for selected patients, allowing both eyes to be treated on the same day under a strict safety protocol designed to maintain the highest standards of patient care and surgical safety.
A full range of modern intraocular lens options is available, including:
Monofocal (single focus) lenses
Enhanced depth of focus (EDOF) lenses
Multifocal lenses
Toric lenses for the correction of astigmatism
We also provide refractive lens exchange for suitable patients seeking reduced dependence on glasses.
Our focus is on achieving excellent visual outcomes while ensuring patients feel informed, supported, and confident throughout their surgical journey.
Cataract surgery has two types of outcome, and it is worth understanding both.
The first is the surgical outcome. Serious complications are uncommon. They are not impossible. Complications are rare but real. Dr Buller will discuss the specific risks that apply to your eye at your assessment appointment. Nothing will be withheld.
The second is the refractive outcome — how independent from glasses you may become after surgery. Every eye is different. Every person's visual processing is different. Some patients adapt quickly. Others take longer, even when the surgical result is excellent. Visual adaptation is neurological as much as optical, and it is not entirely within anyone's control.
What is within our control — and where we apply the most rigorous preparation available — is the safety of your surgery, the accuracy of the measurements that determine your intraocular lens, and the quality of the information you receive before you decide anything.
Your assessment appointment takes approximately two and a half hours. By the end of it you will know whether surgery is appropriate, what your options are, and what it is likely to cost. Dr Alex Buller is the surgeon who assesses you and the surgeon who operates on you. He and his team will know your eye — its specific dimensions, its history, its characteristics — before you go anywhere near the operating theatre.
The published evidence identifies measurement accuracy as the primary variable in how independent from glasses you may be after surgery. The measurement taken before surgery determines the lens calculated for your eye.
Our baseline is five high quality measurements per patient. For the patients where the precision of that number matters most, we repeat every measurement. By the time those patients are in the theatre, their eye has been measured up to ten times. The accepted standard elsewhere is one measurement.
Before you sit down with Dr Buller to discuss which lens may suit you, you will watch a fifteen-minute video. It presents every option with equal weight. Pricing is presented separately from clinical recommendation. The complete trade-offs of every option are shown.
The lens choice involves a real trade-off. A monofocal lens commits all available light to one focal point — typically distance vision. A lens designed for a broader range of focus divides that same light. The division adds something — a range of focus across more than one distance. It also takes something away — the image quality and contrast that comes from dedicating all available light to one point.
Thinking in terms of aims may help. A monofocal lens typically aims for independence from glasses at distance. An extended depth of focus lens typically aims for distance and intermediate. A multifocal lens typically aims for distance, intermediate, and near. Each step adds range. Each step also involves a trade-off in optical quality that varies from eye to eye.
Neither approach is categorically better. The right choice depends on your specific eye, your specific life, and your specific understanding of what each option involves. The video ensures that understanding is in place before the consultation begins.
There is no upgrade. There is the lens that is right for your eye and your life.
Before your operation you will have watched the lens options video and discussed your choice with Dr Buller. You will have the opportunity to ask any remaining questions before you go in. Preparation is part of the care.
Cataract surgery is performed under local anaesthetic. You will be awake throughout.
A dedicated member of the team is present during your surgery whose role is entirely separate from the operation itself. They hold your hand throughout the procedure. Your comfort is looked after from the moment you lie down to the moment you sit up.
Cataract surgery is a day-stay procedure, and you will usually be at The Eye Surgery for approximately 2–2.5 hours.
Immediately after your procedure, you will be taken to our recovery room where one of our specialist nurses will guide you through your immediate post-operative care while you enjoy a warm drink and a light snack.
As your vision may be temporarily blurred after surgery, you will not be able to drive yourself home. Once you are ready for discharge, we will contact your driver for collection. A covered drop-off and pick-up area allows your driver to come directly to the door for a comfortable and convenient collection in all weather conditions.
Following surgery, you will have a quiet afternoon resting at home. Most patients are pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the recovery process is and how quickly their vision begins to improve.
Your follow-up care is with the same team. The continuity of care does not end when the surgery does. Follow-up care is included for the first six weeks after your surgery.
The Eye Surgery is a dedicated eye surgery facility. The consulting clinic and the operating theatre are in the same building, under the same governance, looked after by the same team. The entire building is independently audited to national day-stay hospital standards — not just the theatre, but every room.
The operating theatre is battery powered, off-grid capable, and solar backed. Surgery continues through a complete grid failure. It is the only solar-powered operating theatre in New Zealand.
For every cataract operation performed at The Eye Surgery, two cataract operations are funded in the Pacific Islands through the Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand. This is not added to your fee. It comes out of this practice's budget — because some decisions do not need a commercial justification.
Nothing about your cost changes. Nothing about your care changes. Two people will see clearly because you came here. That is already decided.
