Patient note after cataract surgery

BEFORE THE OPERATION

You need to make an appointment for a preoperative visit to an ophthalmic surgeon and anesthesiologist in advance (preferably a week in advance). At the doctor’s examination, it is desirable to have discharges from previous examinations and previous surgical interventions.

ON THE DAY OF SURGERY

1. Eat a light breakfast, excluding foods with a sharp aroma (onions, garlic).
2. Be sure to take all the medications you take regularly. The medication regimen on the day of surgery and in the postoperative period remains unchanged.
3. After the operation, your eye is covered with a bandage to protect it from accidental contamination. The bandage should be removed when you get home.
4. You can treat the eyelids (not the eye itself) with sterile cotton wool moistened with a 0.02% furatsilin aqueous solution or a 0.25% levomycetin aqueous solution (available at the pharmacy).
5. Starting from the first day after the operation, there is no need to permanently cover the operated eye with a bandage.

REHABILITATION PERIOD

The proposed recommendations are general, i.e., developed for most patients. In cases of an individual course of the postoperative period, the doctor can offer an individual treatment regimen and a schedule of patient examinations. Please check the recommendations at each visit to the doctor!

• Diet. After the operation, adherence to the regimen may have a certain therapeutic value. After the operation, the surgeon or your attending physician will give you recommendations on how to behave in the first day after the operation. In the future, you should clarify the specifics of the postoperative regimen with your doctor.
• Hygiene. When washing your face, avoid getting soap and water in your eye. When washing your head, tilt your head back, not forward. If water gets into the operated eye, rinse it with an aqueous solution of furatsilin 0.02% or an aqueous solution of levomycetin 0.25% (available at the pharmacy).
• Be sure to visit a doctor on the appointed day!
• Eye drops are needed for rapid healing and prevention of infectious complications. As a rule, after the operation, the surgeon prescribes the instillation of several drugs: antibiotic drops, anti-inflammatory drops, or combined drugs.

VISUAL ACUITY IN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD

Vision recovery will be gradual. In the first days after surgery, vision may be low due to a slight swelling of the cornea, a wide pupil (usually disappears in a week). Finally, the vision of the operated eye is restored 1 month after the operation, so the selection of glasses (with a monofocal IOL) is advisable after this period. You can choose glasses at your place of residence or in our medical center.

RULES FOR BURYING DROPS

1. Wash your hands thoroughly.
2. Open the bottle.
3. Tilt your head back or lie on your back and look up.
4. Place the bottle upside down over the eye, do not touch the eye or eyelashes.
5. Gently grasp the lower eyelid with your fingers and pull it down slightly.
6. Lift your eyes up and squeeze the vial slightly so that a drop falls into the space between the eyeball and the stretched lower eyelid.
7. Close your eyes.
8. To enhance the effectiveness of the impact and minimize the systemic side effects of the eye drops, press the inner corner of the eye socket with your index finger (through a sterile napkin).
9. When prescribing several drops, the interval between instillations should be about 5 minutes.
10. Close the vial and store it as directed.