August 2021 - Armadale Eye Clinic

Undergoing cataract surgery can cause both apprehension and excitement. Yes, no one is keen on having a surgical procedure done to an organ as delicate as the eye, yet clearer (and potentially spectacle-free) vision is on the way. Once the cataract surgery procedure is complete, your ophthalmologist will give you a list of post-operative instructions to follow during your cataract surgery recovery period. Although different cataract surgeons may have slight variations in their preferred specifics of eye care after cataract surgery, here are some general guidelines.

Eye Care After Cataract Surgery

Optimising your cataract surgery recovery involves following your doctor’s instructions. Although cataract surgery is a very common procedure in Australia, there is always a low risk of a complication or adverse effect occurring during the postoperative period. Being meticulous about your eye care after cataract surgery will help to minimise this risk.

Use your prescribed eye drops

After your cataract surgery procedure, your eye specialist will prescribe you two or three medicated eye drops. This will include an antibiotic to prevent any opportunistic eye infections, and one or two anti-inflammatory eye drops. You will most likely start with these drops around four times a day and be asked to use them for about four weeks or until the bottles are empty. Although this sounds like a long time and a lot of effort, finishing the prescribed course of medication is important as it will help your eye to heal. If you stop taking the eye drops too soon, it may result in prolonged eye inflammation and an extended cataract surgery recovery period.

Take a rest for as long as necessary

As with many surgical operations, cataract surgery can really take it out of you. You may feel drowsy or fatigued after your procedure, especially if you were administered light sedation to help calm any nerves. You will have already been advised to have someone drive you home after the procedure; if you still don’t feel quite right the following day, make sure you don’t get behind the wheel until you do. Let yourself have a break from house chores and work for at least a few days.

Attend your review appointments

Many eye surgeons and their clinical team will perform a review appointment one day after your cataract surgery, one week later, and then a month later. This is to ensure that your eye is healing as expected and your vision is stabilising.

Although it is extra time out of your day, turning up for these appointments is important as it may catch problems early. In some cases, it may be appropriate to have your post-cataract check-ups with your local optometrist, who will keep in communication with your eye surgeon. This can make it easier for those who live inconveniently far from their eye surgeon or if it’s difficult to get an appointment at the ophthalmology clinic.

Protect your eye

It goes without saying that you should keep your eye clean and protected during the cataract surgery recovery period. Exposing your operated eye to dirt, dust, pathogens, and the risk of trauma too early can have devastating consequences on your vision, not to mention prolonging your recovery time. Immediately after your cataract operation, you will have a protective plastic shield taped over the operated eye. Your eye surgeon may want you to keep this on for the first 24 hours, including overnight, and then only at night for the following week or so. Try to avoid areas that you know are hazardous for a healing eye, such as a dusty basement, dirty construction site, or even a windy park. For the first week or so you may also want to avoid any soaps or makeup around your eye area, as well as getting any unsterile water in the eye, such as from swimming pools and saunas.

Be vigilant about any unexpected symptoms

Although some pain, redness, grittiness, and glare sensitivity are entirely normal immediately following your procedure, some symptoms can be a sign that your eye is not healing as it should. These symptoms include:

Increasing pain and redness
A discharge from the eye
Deteriorating vision
Headaches or nausea
Seeing floaters or flashing lights

If experiencing any of these symptoms, you should contact your eye surgeon immediately and without delay. If you are unable to get in touch with your usual ophthalmology clinic, you may want to contact your local optometrist or take yourself to the nearest hospital emergency department.

After the Post-Op Period

Even long after your post-operative period, eye care after cataract surgery doesn’t stop there. Many people believe that since they no longer need glasses or contact lenses after having had their cataracts removed, it’s no longer necessary to have regular eye tests. Although you’re not going to be bothered by a cataract again, there is still the possibility of another eye condition occurring. Older patients, the typical demographic for cataract surgery, also tend to be at a higher risk of other eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, making it even more important to maintain regular contact with your local optometrist or ophthalmologist. In Australia, the general recommendation is to see an optometrist once a year if you’re over 65, even if you don’t think you have any eye or vision problems.

Call us on (03) 9070 5753 today for a consultation.

Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

The treatment and management of cataracts are an important part of eye care, mainly because cataracts are so common in our ageing population. Thousands of cataract surgery procedures are performed every year, and the public waitlist for cataract surgery can exceed 12 months. With so many cataract operations churning through every day, many eye surgeons have identified factors that impact their efficiency at this popular procedure. Keep reading to find out how long does cataract surgery take and the factors that affect the operating time.

How long does Cataract Surgery Take ?

There are several factors that affect cataract surgery operating times and not all of them are within the control of your eye surgeon. Typically, a straightforward, uncomplicated cataract surgery procedure can be over in as soon as 10-15 minutes per eye. Conversely, some operations may take over half an hour in the case of unexpected (or even expected) complications. According to research, here are some factors that may affect the duration of your operation.

Expertise and experience of the surgeon

Unsurprisingly, the more cataract surgery procedures an eye care specialist has under the belt, the faster and more efficient he or she will be. A study looking at the operating times of various levels of experience found that the most senior and experienced eye surgeons (consultants), generally demonstrated significantly shorter times compared to junior surgeons. The operating time of a consultant ranged from 9 to 29 minutes, while junior ophthalmologists completed their procedures within 19 to 41 minutes.

Complications

Even though cataract surgery typically boasts high success rates and a low risk of complications in Australia, even the simplest of eye care procedures have the potential to go awry. Regardless of the skill of the eye surgeon, unexpected complications may lengthen the duration of the cataract procedure as the surgeon may be required to utilise additional interventions or simply work at a more cautious pace. Certain factors have been found to increase the complexity of a cataract operation:

Older age
Diabetes
Other concurrent eye diseases, such as glaucoma
Certain medications
Simultaneously performing cataract surgery with another eye care procedure, such as inserting a stent for glaucoma
Hyperopia (long-sightedness), resulting in a narrowed space between the iris and the cornea
A very advanced or mature cataract, which can be difficult to fragment into pieces for removal from the eye

Type of anaesthesia

Cataract surgery is most commonly performed with local or topical anaesthesia. A local anaesthetic may be administered as an injection around the eye area, while topical anaesthesia is instilled as eye drops. Cataract procedures involving a topical anaesthetic eye drop are found to result in a much shorter operating time compared to local anaesthesia. General anaesthesia is rarely used for cataract surgery, however, in the case of a special need, such as a mental impairment, it may be offered. This would conceivably further lengthen the total procedure time.

Pupil size

The pupil is the aperture in the centre of your coloured iris. To be able to access the cataract behind the iris, the pupil must be dilated, typically with eye drops. However, in some cases, pharmaceutical eye drops are not able to dilate the pupil adequately. In these instances, the eye surgeon must use another technique to widen the pupil, such as iris hooks, expanders, or rings. Eyes that can be sufficiently dilated with pharmaceutical eye drops alone are associated with much shorter surgery times compared to eyes that require another intervention. For those that do require the use of a device, certain techniques may take longer to implement. For example, widening the iris with a ring is associated with faster operating times compared to using an iris hook.

Can Anything Be Done to Reduce Your Operation Time?

Even the most experienced eye surgeon will not always be able to give an exact answer to how long does cataract surgery take. However, taking into account the following may help to reduce your risk of unexpected complications arising during your operation, thereby potentially keeping your procedure time to a minimum.

Be open about your medical history

It’s important to give your eye specialist an accurate picture of your health, particularly your eye care history. Even if you think it may not be relevant to your cataract surgery procedure, you may be surprised at how seemingly unrelated systemic conditions or medications can have an impact, whether on the cataract operation itself or the post-operative period. During your preoperative consultations, your eye surgeon will want to know of any health conditions you have, any past eye infections or injuries, and any medications you’re currently taking or have stopped recently.

Follow any pre-operative instructions

Depending on your eyes and your eye specialist, you may be recommended to follow some treatments before your surgery. This can include improving the hygiene of the eyelids and skin around the eyes with lid wipes, or by using medicated eye drops. The aim of these pre-operative instructions is to reduce your likelihood of excessive inflammation or infection after your cataract surgery.

Ask for eye surgeon recommendations

If the choice is available to you, you may want to ask your GP, optometrist, or friends or family who have had cataract surgery about who they might recommend performing your surgery. A personal recommendation is always better than choosing a surgeon at random!

Call us on (03) 9070 5753 for a consultation.