My Experience

I had a cataract in my right eye, I could no longer drive at night and my vision was decreasing, so I had the cataract removed.

Before the procedure, I was told not to take aspirin or aspirin products for five full days prior to the surgery. I was also told not to eat or drink six hours before the surgery.

I walked into the ambulatory laser and surgery center. A receptionist greeted me, and about 10 minutes later a nurse took me into a little room, put drops into my right eye and asked me some questions. She then gave me a hospital gown to put on and a cap to cover my hair. I then walked into another room and sat down in a recliner; they placed a warm blanket over me. The anesthetist introduced himself and answered my questions, and I waited my turn.

Eventually, I walked into the operating room and lay onto the operating table. They gave me a local so I was not asleep but could feel no pain. I was aware that they were working on my eye, which was an uncomfortable sensation, but nothing hurt. The procedure took about 20 minutes.

I felt fine after the procedure and was relieved it was over. I had a patch over my eye. The next day, in a follow up visit, the doctor removed the patch and checked my eye. He said that it looked good. For the next week, my eye didn’t hurt but it did feel like something was in it.