Cataract Surgery Pre & Post Op Care

Unless there is something extremely unusual about your eyes or your overall health, your cataract surgery will be performed as an outpatient surgery. This means that you will come in for the cataract surgery and go home the same day. The following is a look at the basic outline of what you can expect in regards to pre and post-op care for cataract surgery from Fishkind, Bakewell, Maltzman, & Hunter Eye Care & Surgery Center.

Measurements with Your Eye Surgeon

Your surgeon will examine your eyes and determine that you should proceed with cataract surgery to improve your vision.  He or she will also conduct pre-operative measurements and discuss your lens options and desired vision outcomes.  Many patients are a candidate for premium intraocular lens implants which can treat astigmatism or provide a specific range of vision after surgery.

The Night and Hours Before Surgery

In your pre-operative instructions, your ophthalmologist will ask about your medications and health history.  You will be instructed to not eat or drink the night before your surgery as conscious sedation is used during the procedure.  Before you leave home, you will use eye drops to dilate your eye and start preparing it for the procedure. After your arrival at the Northwest Eye Surgery Center, your eye surgeon will use local anesthesia drops to numb your eyes for surgery.

Surgery Day

After your eye is dilated and prepared for surgery, an anesthesiologist will provide intravenous sedation rather than general anesthesia. You will be awake but very relaxed, and your eye will be numb. The surgery typically takes between ten and twenty minutes. After surgery, you will then be transported to the recovery area.  A nurse will explain the follow up care to you and verify that you have all your eye drops ready for the start of the schedule. Your driver will take you home and you will rest comfortably for the remainder of the day.

Post-Operative Care

Your eyes should start healing and your vision will improve within two to five days following your cataract surgery. At first, your vision is likely to be blurry but that blurriness will gradually resolve. You will be given an eye drop schedule to follow. Taking the post-0p eye drops appropriately is vital to the success of the surgery and to reduce the possibility of infection.   You will be seen by your surgeon the day after your procedure and then have a follow up visit within 10-14 days to check on the health of the eye and, if necessary, to prepare for the second eye surgery. Very rarely, problems may occur following surgery that result in a longer healing period or require additional surgery to correct.

Talk to Your Eye Surgeon to Learn More About Cataract Surgery

Many people allow cataracts to go on for far too long, gradually accepting blurrier and blurrier vision until they can no longer see well. Not addressing this issue can have negative effects on your life. Talk to your ophthalmologist today about cataract surgery, and if you have astigmatism or are at risk for developing residual astigmatism, discuss how toric or multifocal lenses can help you achieve better vision. Call Fishkind, Bakewell, Maltzman, & Hunter in Tucson today at (520) 293-6740 or contact us via our website to schedule an appointment.