Pterygium and Ocular Surface Reconstruction

If you have a history of Cardiac (Heart), Pulmonary (Lung), or other serious health conditions you will need to obtain Primary Care or Cardiology Clearance prior to surgery. This clearance will need to be faxed or sent to your surgery center in advance.

It is important to review all your medications with your doctor prior to surgery and you may be asked to adjust some medications before surgery. If you take a blood thinner please refer to patient information and consent on blood thinner medications. Please avoid aspirin (unless prescribed for heart disease), Ibuprofen (Motrin), and vitamin E products (Hydroeye) for 2 weeks before surgery. You may resume these medications immediately after surgery.

Many patients have dry eye disease which can worsen after eye surgery. The dry eye worsening typically lasts several months. It is common to need to improve control of dry eye disease prior to surgery. There are many options for treating dry eye and some preoperative treatments may include lubricating eye drops, oral supplements, warm compresses, and procedures such as Lipiflow.

Your surgery will be done in an outpatient surgery center or hospital and you will likely go home the same day.

Continue all your usual eye drops as prescribed, including the morning of surgery. You may take your usual blood pressure or heart medications with a small sip of water in the morning unless directed otherwise by your doctor or anesthesia team.

One business day prior to your surgery someone will call you from the surgery center to discuss your arrival time for surgery. Plan to be at the surgery center for several hours.

Surgery requires FASTING. NO EATING OR DRINKING starting at MIDNIGHT the night before surgery. If your surgery is scheduled for the afternoon, then please NO EATING OR DRINKING AT LEAST 6 HOURS BEFORE your arrival time.

Please wear loose comfortable clothing. Shower and wash your hair the evening prior or morning of your surgery. WASH YOUR FACE THOROUGHLY.

No Makeup, Perfume, Lotions, or Jewelry/Valuables. No Smoking or Alcohol 24 hours prior to surgery.

You will need to arrange transportation to and from the surgery. You may NOT drive yourself.

Many patients worry if eye surgery will be painful. Modern anesthesia has advanced greatly, helping patients feel comfortable during the procedure.

In addition to local or topical anesthesia, many patients choose to have light sedation and an eye block. The sedation is often administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist during surgery.

Topical Anesthesia:

We use eye drops called proparacaine and tetracaine to numb the eye prior to surgery. Once the eye is numb, you may feel mild pressure and cold water during the surgery but not pain. It is normal to see bright lights during surgery as well.

Local Anesthesia:

In addition to topical anesthesia, your surgeon may recommend numbing the eye with an injection around the eye. This is called a peribulbar or retrobulbar block and it can help place the eye in a deeper state of numbing. This type of anesthesia is typically offered for pterygium and eye lesion removal surgeries.

Intravenous (IV) Anesthesia:

Though many patients prefer it, IV sedation is not necessary for eye surgery. Sedating medications, such as Versed and Fentanyl, are given to help relax you during your surgery. All medications are dosed incrementally to achieve the right level of sedation and comfort for each patient. Please be aware that even with IV sedation, MANY PATIENTS WILL BE AWAKE DURING SURGERY. Do not expect to be “put to sleep” as your eye surgeon often prefers that you can hold still and focus on the microscope light during the procedure.

There are risks associated with anesthesia and sedation. Though uncommon these risks include injury to the eye, heart and breathing problems, brain injury, and in very rare cases, death.