The final post in my three part “Expectation” series:
The Day After Surgery
- You should arrive at your surgeon’s office at the scheduled time (usually in the morning).Please bring your drops with you.
- Your surgeon’s staff will remove your eye shield and check your vision.Your vision may or may not be better the first day after surgery as there are many variables that can affect vision early after surgery. Most people who do not have other diseases of the eye will experience significant improvement in their vision with new glasses by one month after surgery.
- Your surgeon (or his or her staff) will check your vision and intraocular pressure. Your surgeon will complete a brief examination of the eye. Sometimes it is necessary to lower the intraocular pressure either in the office or with additional drops.
- You may receive a pair of “cataract glasses” (wrap around plastic sunglasses) to be used when you are outside. This is mostly for comfort as bright lights will be bothersome while the eye is healing.
- The first week after surgery you will be swimming in drops. These drops protect the eye from infection and inflammation. Your surgeon may have removed the cataract and replaced it with a new lens, but the ball is in your court after surgery. It is critical for proper healing that you use your eyedrops as instructed and limit your activities to those approved by your surgeon.
- You will likely have another appointment with your surgeon about a week after surgery. By this time 95% of the healing is done and your vision should be clearer (unless you have corneal astigmatism or other ocular disease such as glaucoma or macular degeneration that could limit your vision). You may be seen by the surgeon or another doctor. The purpose of this visit is primarily to confirm that the eye is healing as anticipated and to re-instruct you in the care of your eye. Most likely the doctor will allow you to reduce the number of drops you have to use.
- Around two to four weeks after surgery your eye can be checked for new glasses. Unless you chose a “presbyopia-correcting IOL” you will need bifocals or both distance and near glasses. Some optometrists prefer to double check this refraction in another week or so to confirm that the eye is no longer changing as it heals. You can also schedule surgery on your second eye around this time if you have a significant cataract in your other eye.
- I prefer my patients to keep the eye “clean and dry” for the first month after surgery. Essentially, this means no swimming and no gardening. It’s generally OK to take a shower and wash one’s face or hair. It is not OK to submerge the eye under water or work in the dirt.
- As for physical activities, I instruct my patients to avoid lifting objects greater than 20 pounds for the first few weeks. For grandparents, it’s a good idea not to lift that toddler grandchild (toddlers have an uncanny way of whacking an eye after surgery when they are excited or upset). Light aerobic activity such as a Stairmaster or stationary bike is OK but I’d stay away from kick-boxing or high-impact aerobics.
- It is usually OK to resume driving a few days after surgery (assuming you were driving prior to surgery) but this should be confirmed with the surgeon.
- Ocular irritation and a little redness in the white part of the eye is OK. However, any significant pain, swelling, or loss of vision is not. These symptoms demand an immediate call to your surgeon.
In general the post-operative experience is uneventful other than the usual “Wow!” experience of improved vision. However, following the guidelines of your surgeon is critical to the success of the surgery.
© 2009 David Richardson, MD
I have halos and ghosts with tecnis iol lens,what is the longest time it takes to go away? IT HAS BEEN THREE MONTHS SO FAR.
Well, if what you mean by “tecnis iol” is the AMO Tecnis MF (multifocal) IOL then technically they will never fully go away. Multifocal IOLs work by splitting the light between distant and near images. Thus, when someone with a multifocal IOL is looking at an obect in the distance s/he will see a “halo” from the near objects or lights which are poorly focused on the retina. The opposite is true when looking at near objects (distant images/lights will be the source of the halo). Over time many people will experience a process called “neuroadaptation” which essentially means that… Read more »
10 days after cataract surgery. my eye is still uncomfortable. but, i have seasonal allergies. it’s fall right now & headaches are constant (usual during this season) could this be why i am feeling discomfort in surgery eye? i assume, yes. or do i have to check it out.
Dear Joe, Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to give personal medical advice online. A good rule of thumb, however, is that one’s surgeon should be notified of any problems or issues one is experiencing after surgery. When a surgeon operates on someone, s/he tacitly accepts the responsibility of dealing with (or assigning someone to deal with) any unexpected issues that arrise. When I operate on someone I am personally available 24/7 to answer their calls and address their concerns. You should not have to search online for answers to your post-operative questions. I would call your surgeon’s office… Read more »
Thanks for helping me understand that the patient must not lift any heavy object after the surgery to avoid accidents. I will share this with my grandfather since we will get him treated. He has been suffering from this for a year now. We just saved up for this surgery since we don’t have anywhere to go to borrow money back then.
I wanted to thank you for explaining what should be done after cataract surgery. It’s good to know that your eyes can be checked for new glasses after two to four weeks after the surgery. I’m interested to learn if you need to wait longer if your surgery was more or less severe. http://www.myeyespecialist.com.au
It’s helpful to read that your surgeon will check up on your vision, your eyes, and lower the pressure if necessary post-surgery. My grandma might need to get cataract surgery soon and is trying to find a service to do this for her. I’ll let her know about this process and what happens after the surgery.
Thanks for explaining that eye drops are important because they prevent inflammation. I want to help my mom find the best local surgeon for cataracts and also give her some tips to help with her recovery. I thought eye drops would only be used for comfort, so thanks for teaching me about their other important role as well!