“Do I need anesthesia for a laser eye surgery?”
I'm having laser surgery to get rid of cataracts in my eyes. Will I need to have anesthesia for these laser procedures? If so, what kind of anesthesia? If not...how bad is the pain during the laser procedures?
7 Answers
These procedures can be done without any anesthesia, only numbing eye drops by the surgeon, if one can lie still during surgery. Often, a minimal sedation is given by an anesthesiologist which not only is more comfortable for the patient to stay still, but he/she also monitors the patient closely during surgery to make it safer for the patient and the surgeon can concentrate on the surgery without worrying about the patient.
We generally use eye drop anesthesia for cataract and laser cataract surgery. In addition we give our patients some mild IV sedation to remain calm and comfortable during surgery. On rare occasion some patients require narcotic analgesics to help if they are uncomfortable.
Usually topical anesthesia is needed. Literally three drops of a local anesthestic.
For laser cataract surgery, you may receive topical local anesthesia and mild IV sedation. There is usually little or no pain during the procedure or afterward.
For this kind of surgery, the ophthalmologist uses topical anesthesia applied as drops in the eye. You can have moderate sedation if you want because you will be covered up completely with drapes that expose only the eye that is having surgery.
The surgery itself is brief (15-30 min depending on the surgeon) and painless.
The surgery itself is brief (15-30 min depending on the surgeon) and painless.
I suggest you discuss this with your EyeMD ophthalmologist. Many cataract surgeons do provide for intravenous sedation and local anesthesia for cataract surgery. If you are having a laser procedure for a secondary cataract, anesthesia (other than topical) is generally not needed.
Topical local anesthesia is dropped onto the surface of your eye so you don’t feel any pain or discomfort. During your procedure you will be comfortable, though “not” asleep. Your ophthalmologist May direct you to look up or down during your procedure. For this reason you are to be comfortable while following commands.
