Pre-Operative Consultation
The pre-operative consultation is where we check your tear production, review your health, finalize the details of your procedures, order appropriate tests, prescribe medications, discuss your aftercare and answer any questions you may have.
To the consultation, we ask that you bring the following:
- Contact lenses or glasses if you wear them.
- The results of your latest eye exam from your ophthalmologist. If you haven’t had one lately, you may be asked to schedule one in advance of the pre-op appointment.
- Any appropriate health records related to the list of conditions noted above.
CRITICAL PRE-OP CAUTIONARY NOTE
It is absolutely essential that that you avoid all aspirin, aspirin-related, ibuprofen or blood-thinning medications for 2 full weeks prior to your surgery. In your pre-op consultation, we will give you a complete list of these drugs. For our patients, we also provide a password-protected link allowing you to download the list onto your computer. If in doubt about a specific medication, do not take it, call the office first and ask if it is on the forbidden list.
Operation and Recovery Logistics
SURGERY DURATION: One to 2 hours, depending on the procedure.
ANESTHESIA: Local or sedated, depending on the patient and what other procedures you are having done at the same time. Either way, you will be comfortable and will not feel any pain.
SUTURES REMOVED: Depending on the procedure, from 5-7 days.
As you wake up from surgery, your eyelids may feel slightly sore and tight as the anesthesia wears away, but most feel none of this. However, lubricating ointment and prescription painkillers will easily control the discomfort.
RECOVERY
You may don eyeglasses or sunglasses immediately after surgery. Gradually, you will be able to resume to your normal activities:
- 2-3 days – Read or watch television
- 5-7 days – Resume wearing makeup
- 7 days – Be out in public, back to work, may resume wearing contact lenses
- 2 weeks – Resume strenuous exercise
During healing, you may experience:
- Bruising that looks like a black eye usually reaches its peak during the first week, and generally takes about 7 to 14 days to completely fade away
- Dryness, itching or burning. We can prescribe eye drops to ease all of these
- Excessive tearing
- Temporary changes in your eyesight, such as blurring or double vision
- Sensitivity to sunlight, wind, and other irritants. We advise all our patients to wear sunglasses with UV protective lenses to help with this
Post-Operative Care
You will need to keep your activities to a minimum for at least 3 to 5 days. We will remove the sutures from 2 days to a week after surgery. However, leisurely walks out of the sun can be beneficial.
We’ll show you everything you need to know for your aftercare at home that will include:
- Cleaning your eyes which may be gummy when you wake up for a week or so
- Keeping your head slightly elevated above your heart-level – even when sleeping – for 7 days
- Applying cold compresses and soaks for 48 hours to reduce swelling and bruising
- Taking recommended homeopathic medicines
To optimize and accelerate healing, we also recommend BIOPTRON™ light and hyperbaric oxygen treatments.
RARE COMPLICATIONS DURING HEALING MAY INCLUDE:
- Difficulty in fully closing the eyes during sleep. In extremely rare cases this may be permanent.
- Ectropion, that is a pulling down of the lower lids. Further surgery may be needed to correct this. Refer to “canthoplasties” above.
MINIMIZING SCARS
Day by day, the swelling and discoloration around your eyes will gradually subside. Though the scars may appear “ropey” for a month or two or remain slightly pink for two months or more after surgery, they’ll eventually fade to a nearly invisible pale line.
Visible scarring can be kept to a minimum by:
- Following all post-op instructions to the letter
- Using an appropriate scar treatment gel