Day of Surgery
Patients are given a time to arrive at the Surgicenter. This is not the time of the procedure, but approximately one hour before the procedure to give time for the nursing and anesthesia assessments and preparation for surgery. At this time we will also reinforce what you need to know to provide for your postoperative continuing care.
On the day of surgery take all of your other routine medications and your routine eye drops according to your normal schedule.
If you are a diabetic, DO NOT take any diabetic pills or insulin before your surgery. (You will resume your diabetic pills or insulin at your next scheduled dose after surgery at home.)
On the morning of surgery (or the night before), be certain to take a shower or bath –making certain to wash your face and shampoo your hair. Do not wear eye makeup on the day of surgery. DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING AFTER MIDNIGHT before your surgery. Exception: You may have water up to 2 hours before your scheduled arrival time at the surgicenter. Please leave all valuables and non-essential jewelry at home.
You will be allowed to wear your everyday clothing for surgery. Please wear short-sleeved, loose neck or button down shirts. Avoid turtlenecks and heavy sweaters. This allows us to more readily insert an intravenous line and apply heart monitoring leads and a blood pressure cuff on your arm.
You will be placed on a soft padded stretcher chair for your surgical procedure. Depending on the procedure you will be having, the procedure itself may take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours with a recovery time from 20 minutes to one hour. We provide topical anesthesia with conscious sedation and/or local blocks for our surgical procedures. You will be able to speak during the procedure and may sleep. We do not provide general anesthesia at our surgicenter where you would be anesthetized and dependent on a ventilator to breathe during the procedure.
Once surgery is complete, you will be escorted by your stretcher chair to the recovery room where you will be given some light refreshments. The nursing staff members will monitor your vital signs and keep you comfortable. Our patient satisfaction surveys indicate a high level of satisfaction with our surgeons, nursing staff members and anesthesia providers. Many comments have indicated that the patients were nervous about coming in for surgery on their eye, but won’t be if they have to come back for another procedure because they actually enjoyed the experience with their surgeon and our staff.
Family and friends are welcome to wait in the reception area while surgery is taking place. Coffee and beverages are always available for your family and friends while they are waiting for you. If they would rather not wait at the center, please provide their contact information and we will contact them to pick you up when you are ready for discharge.
It will be necessary for you to have someone drive you to and from the surgicenter as you will not be able to drive as a result of the surgery and medications received before and during your surgery.
Postoperative
Depending on your surgery and your physician’s preference, you may or may not have an eye patch over your operated eye.
Most daily routines can be resumed upon your return home. You may watch TV. Driving a car is usually allowed after the first 24 hours. It is OK to take a shower or bath, and wash your hair with help, unless otherwise instructed by your doctor. Try to avoid getting soap in the operated eye. Eye make-up should not be applied for one week to the affected eye. Lotion may be applied to the face – making certain to keep it away from the affected eye or site of surgery for oculoplastic procedures. Avoid heavy lifting or straining.
In some patients, postoperatively, vision is restored to almost normal by the very next day. In other patients, vision improvement occurs over the course of a few weeks. A patient’s eyeglasses are generally not changed for 4 to 8 weeks after surgery. It is only then that the final visual result can be fully appreciated.
Patients referred to us for surgery by a local optometrist are generally returned to the optometrist for a final refraction exam and follow-up care. Please remember to bring in your Pre-op Eye Drops/Ointment when you come in for both your surgery and your postoperative follow-up visit.