Immediately to 24 Hours After

While each person's experience will be unique, there are a few things most people experience immediately following cataract surgery. This is just a guide, however, so please ask your doctor for more detail about what you should expect immediately following your surgery.

Immediately Following Surgery

How Will I Feel? Immediately following the surgery, you may feel a little groggy from the local anesthesia. This is normal and will wear off fairly quickly while you are in the post-operative waiting room.

What Will Happen? At the end of the surgical procedure (after your new intraocular lens has been implanted), your doctor may place some antibiotic drops in your eye to prevent infection and administer some anti-inflammatory drops to minimize any swelling that might occur. A nurse or other member of the doctor's staff may provide you with a shield and patch for your eye.

You will wait in the post-operative room for approximately an hour, though this will vary by doctor. You may receive prescription medications you will need to administer for the next few weeks and detailed instructions on how to administer those medications and care for your eye. Your follow-up appointment(s) will be scheduled, and then you will go home. Your doctor will most likely give you dark glasses to wear for the drive.

What Should I Do? Relax. On your way home or immediately thereafter, have your caregiver fill and deliver your prescriptions, if this has not already occurred.

What Should I Avoid? Immediately following surgery, you should avoid touching or rubbing your eye or removing the protective eye covering. You will not be allowed to drive yourself home.

Within the First 24 hours

How Will I Feel? Your eye may be sensitive to the touch and maybe even a little scratchy for a few days. You may even see a little glare or halos (circular flares or hazy rings that may appear around car headlights or other lighted objects). This is normal and will diminish over time and then go away.

What Should I Do? You will need to administer your eye drops on the schedule provided by your doctor in order to avoid post operative complications. Your doctor will most likely advise you that it is okay to resume your normal daily activities such as reading, writing, watching TV, and walking. Your doctor will also probably advise you to wear your protective eye covering while you sleep.

You may be tempted to use your glasses to help you see clearly — your doctor may or may not advise this.

The next day, you will return to your doctor for a check-up.

What Should I Avoid? During the first day after the surgery, you should continue to refrain from driving. It is important that you avoid rubbing your eye or getting anything in your eye, even water, which could increase the chance of infection. You should not wear eye make-up until your doctor tells you that it is okay, and you should avoid sleeping on the side of your body that the eye is that has been operated on. You should also avoid any kind of straining activity, such as lifting objects. Lifting something as light as 15-20 pounds can still increase your intraocular pressure briefly, which is to be avoided immediately after cataract surgery.

The recovery process described here is meant to be representative of most cataract procedures, which occur without complications. Individual results may vary. No information contained here is intended to substitute for a physician's advice.