Q and A with Abrams Eye Institute
We often get questions from patients about the experience of having eye surgery. This question comes from Robert.
Question:
I was told I need cataract surgery in both eyes. Something about eye surgery creeps me out. How was the process? Are you totally awake? Made groggy? Any feeling or pain? Robert
Answer:
Hi Robert,
Patients having any type of laser eye surgery are given Xanax to calm their nerves.
For cataract surgery, patients are not put to sleep because they need to fixate on a light during the surgery. Instead, they are given IV sedation, Versed, to help them feel calm and relaxed. The anesthesiologist will ask the patient a few questions prior to the procedure to see what amount of medication to use. He or she is always present and monitoring the patient during the surgery. Therefore, if the patient is still feeling anxious more medication can be used under the supervision of the anesthesiologist.
There will be no pain or discomfort because in addition to the IV, we use local anesthetic eye drops.
The surgery itself takes less than ten minutes but the patient will be in the surgery center for about 4 hours for prep before the eye surgery and monitoring after the surgery.
Hope this information helps! If you have any more questions, feel free to call the office at 702-304-9494.
