The conventional, low-cost method of cataract surgery used in eye camps involves removing the lens by using a scalpel to cut around it.
This is in contrast to phacosurgery, which is the more modern method used in developed countries. In phacosurgery, the lens is removed by fragmenting it with high frequency pulses and vacuuming it out.
Both surgeries take about 15 minutes to complete in the hands of a skilled surgeon.