I read everything I could about cataract surgery in the last 3
years--mostly posters in this group.  I chickened out three times, but
finally had to have it 3 days ago because my left eye was so cloudy.
(my right eye was fine, I think this cataract developed from a boxing
injury 35 years ago.)
Anyway, I had a fantastic result--20-20 vision in one day.  The Doctor
even said he'd eliminate the astigmatism and that seems to be what
happened.
What has surprised me was no pain at all, and a minor scratchy feeling
in the eye which has completely disappeared in two days.
I had two big floaters and one medium one for decades. (I even gave
them names, they were old friends).  They seem to be gone.  However I
can see that the floaters are still there but very out of focus---the
vision is in good focus.
But it is hard to notice the floaters without trying.
No rings or glare or bad effects at night, either.
I had had a phenomenon of a light at the outer margin of vision
starting low and going on and off with each heartbeat as it rose in
vision. This was before surgery.  It seems to be gone too. Maybe a
change in inner ocular pressure is the reason.
The only slightly bad thing is that I can see that what I thought was
my very good left eye has some yellowing and the colors I thought were
so bright and vibrant are actually very subdued.
The acuity of the right eye is still 20/20 corrected.  And the large
color and clarity difference doesn't bother me.
I'm not sure about getting the second eye done.  Maybe I was just
lucky.  And the Doctor was annoyed with me during surgery--he kept
saying "stop moving."  I thought I could keep my eye still by fixating
on the light, but the lights became a swirling kaliedascope.  It seems
the Doctor is more concerned about the patient keeping his head
perfectly steady. So I don't want to risk my moving or the Doctor
making a slip resulting in vitreous loss.
Sorry for the long post.  But I liked to read all the long posts when
deciding on surgery.  EyeKnowWhy almost talked me out of it.  But then
I saw that despite all his misgivings, he too, was for cataract
surgery.
PS Don't worry about the assembly line procedure or the fact that the
Doctor conducts the exam in 10 minutes.  I think getting a surgeon who
has performed over 500 surgeries is the key. (mine had done 10,000)