FEEL LIKE PARTYING AFTER FIFTEEN MINUTE CATARACT SURGERY
Well, not quite. But the cataract surgery really was a very simple procedure.
It was done at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Monday July 25. Day surgery. I was admitted at 9:30 a.m., put on a stretcher – the one I stayed on through the cataract surgery.I would have the lens in my left eye removed and a plastic implant inserted.
Lucy came and started an IV drip ready for the anesthetist to add the anesthetic once I was in the OR. Another nurse squeezed gel into my eye to freeze and dilate, then taped my eye shut.I would have other drops put in before the doctor started the cataract surgery to ensure the freezing was complete. I didn’t even have to take off my shoes and socks! Imagine going into the operating room with shoes on – as if ready to walk out.
My friend stayed with me until the porter came to wheel me away. I was introduced to a variety of nurses and doctors along the way, each of whom had some small part to play in preparing me for the cataract surgery.
The porter told me that by the end of the week I would probably not remember much of what happened. The anesthetic was supposed to put me, not to sleep, but in la-la land, wherever that might be, and supposedly wipe out most of my memory for those ten to fifteen minutes. I still don’t know where la-la land is because they evidently gave me very little anesthetic and I felt no different after the doctor added it to the IV than before. I felt so peaceful. So calm.I couldn’t have felt more peaceful lying on a lounge chair beside a lake.
And, contrary to what the porter said, I do remember much of what happened during the whole of the cataract surgery. I remember the shapes I saw and the brilliant colours as they worked on my eye. My other eye was covered over throughout the procedure. I felt nothing as the surgeon did his work. In the middle of everything the thought occurred to me that I should be doing something more profitable with my time, so I decided to pray for someone. It seems crazy when I think about it, but it was exactly what I did. I hope they benefited from the prayer.
If you are not too squeamish you might want to watch the video below to see just how simple this cataract surgery is today. There is no bleeding, so don’t be afraid on that count. But if you are not too sure about watching, please just skip over it and simply read the rest of the article.
The cataract surgery complete, I was out of the OR by the time I was supposed to be going in. They keep you for about a half hour after, then take you out to the car in a wheelchair. My friend picked me up and we went out for lunch. I had some scratchy sensation but no pain following surgery. And that lasted only during the day of surgery. There was also no redness or swelling in my eye. Literally painless cataract surgery.
I had to return for a post-op check-up the next morning when I started the eye-drops. Two kinds, one drop four times a day. The only after-effect I had from the cataract surgery was wanting to sleep most of the next few days (not on, but after the day of surgery). I was allowed to drive as soon as I had my post-op appointment though I didn’t do so until Friday morning.
My next appointment is August 11 when I will find out when my right eye will undergo the same cataract surgery. There is little wrong with my right eye, but the surgeon, Dr. Motolko, said it would balance my sight much better to have it done. I’m game. I want to be as balanced as possible! After that, I will no longer need glasses to drive – just reading glasses. That is the opposite of what I have needed since I was a child.
Cataract surgery. Modern technique has certainly improved the procedure. I remember years ago when the patient was in hospital for two weeks with sand bags at the head, a patch over the eye and not allowed to move. Plus, they used stitches. Today there is a minimal incision and no stitches.
If any of you, my readers, are facing cataract surgery, all I can say is, “Don’t be afraid!” If you have a good doctor and relatively healthy eyes other than the cataract, there is a very high rate of success. I was told 98-99%. I’m seeing well out of my left eye and I understand that as it heals further the sight will only 
improve. After blurred vision for a few years, it’s good to be able to see so clearly.
If you would like more information about what a cataract is and what cataract surgery is all about, check this web site.
Yes, it takes only ten to fifteen minutes to do the cataract surgery and you have the rest of your life to see everything in a new light.
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My wife felt very much the same after her Lasik surgery, though they did both eyes in one sitting. Her improved vision was remarkable. Now, after nine years, her eyes need “enhancement” surgery, which she’ll probably have done next year.
Jack:
Thank you so much for visiting and for leaving a comment. Isn’t is marvelous what they can do today in the medical field?
Great post. I have retina surgery on my left eye back in Jan. 2010. I was literally blind in the eye prior to the surgery. I could only see light and dark. Actually went to work like that. It was only the grace of God that I was not hit by a car, bus or subway. As soon as the doctor told me I needed to have eye surgery because the laser treatments were not working I was terrified. I cried the morning of the surgery for fear, but I managed to get myself to the Retina Center and get through the procedure. My surgery took 30 minutes and half my head was bandaged almost like the Mummy. Like you the nurse put all types of drops in my eye and I did have local anesthesia. Like you I kept all my clothes on and I was placed in a chair like device that morphed into a hospital bed. I was awake for the entire surgery. Friends and co-workers ask me why I did not move during the surgery but I guess the doctors gave me a paralytic agent because I could not move. A friend sent a car service to pick me up and take me back to Queens. I had a major list of post-op instructions of things I could not do. The next day the doctors removed the bandage. My vision cleared up in about a week and two weeks later I was back at work. Eyesight is a precious thing and believe me I was not trying to be like Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles.
Thank you DeBorah, for stopping by and commenting. I imagine there are a lot of similarities in different types of eye surgery. I had to have someone take me to the hospital and stay there until I was ready to go home. Otherwise they won’t do the surgery. I couldn’t lift more than 10 pounds for a week or so and I couldn’t hang my head down for several days. The eye-drops are the thing that give me the most trouble. Not putting them in, but remembering to put them in! I remember when I get up in the morning and when I get ready for bed, but those 2 times in between give me trouble some days. As of Thursday I had to throw away the one type and start using the other one only 3 times a day instead of 4. That is somewhat easier to remember. I think the worst thing for me about the surgery was that the hospital was so cold. I had 2 doubled flannelette blankets over me and my feet were still cold even with socks and shoes on. But it is great to be able to see so much better now.
Thank you Diane for walking us through your entire process. Any type of surgery carries a bit of trepidation with it (for me anyway). But you make it sound like it was a walk in the park!
Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment, Mark. Yes, it was, as you said, a walk in the park except unlike the walk I didn’t have to use my legs! Actually, they strap arms and legs down to make sure you don’t jerk your body at the wrong time. But it certainly is nothing to fear.
Hi, Diane. Wonderful to hear of your successful surgery. I will certainly consider it for myself, as I’m told I have slight cataracts in both eyes. Love and blessings.
Thanks Mary. You definitely do not have anything to be concerned about as long as you have a good doctor and reasonably healthy eyes. I go on October 3 to get the other eye done, and there is only a very small cataract on that one. But because of the discrepancy of now having one far-sighted eye and one near-sighted, they do the other one as soon as possible to balance the vision. I wish you well.
Hi Diane,
A great post. I think I told you I have cataracts. My appointment to see the surgeon is in November after I return from Israel. I look forward to seeing clearly again.
Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment, Mary. Yes, you can look forward to it. It’s wonderful that it takes such a short time for the surgery and even the recovery, as long as we do what we’re told, is not so long either. And the results are well worth it.
I also remember the brilliant colours as the surgery was being done. I still think I’d like to do a painting of what I saw. Amazing experience!
Thanks for commenting, Ruth. I go on October 3 for my other eye. I’m looking forward to having two eyes the same! With one eye far-sighted and one near-sighted, my vision is not quite so clear as it will be. The glasses are for short-sightedness, so with them I see out of one eye not 100% clear because of the cataract and without them I see clearly at a distance from the other eye, but not for reading. Lot’s of fun!