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Had surgery in late December to reattach the detached retina in my left eye. Took two months for the gas bubble the doctor put behind the eye to hold the retina in place to disappear. Annoying. Have had distorted vision since and my vision in that eye got worse, from about 6.75 to 13 or 14. Was told next step is to remove the cataract and will be getting both done, on different days of course.
Only thing I don't like is the fact it will be done at an outpatient facility which means I'll most likely have to get undressed and wear one of those one size fits all gowns with nothing allowed underneath. That was very embarrassing when I had the retina surgery. You'd think they'd have improved that by now.
Anyway, the cataract surgery should be a piece of cake compared to the retina surgery.
Different places, different circumstances, but even in the outpatient operating room, I wore street clothes. Maybe you could supply your own "street version" attire. It's not asking much, for Pete's sake.
Had surgery in late December to reattach the detached retina in my left eye. Took two months for the gas bubble the doctor put behind the eye to hold the retina in place to disappear. Annoying. Have had distorted vision since and my vision in that eye got worse, from about 6.75 to 13 or 14. Was told next step is to remove the cataract and will be getting both done, on different days of course.
Only thing I don't like is the fact it will be done at an outpatient facility which means I'll most likely have to get undressed and wear one of those one size fits all gowns with nothing allowed underneath. That was very embarrassing when I had the retina surgery. You'd think they'd have improved that by now.
Anyway, the cataract surgery should be a piece of cake compared to the retina surgery.
Actually, at the place where I had my cataract surgery, patients remained in their own clothes for the duration of the surgery. They just told us to wear a shirt that buttoned in the front. I don't think I even had to take my shoes off. I wore a short sleeve shirt and I think they put an IV set-up in an antecubital vein for a short acting anesthetic. They put a big heavy blanket sort of thing that they wrap up tight (so you don't move) just before your surgery and I think that covers your clothing.
Only thing I don't like is the fact it will be done at an outpatient facility which means I'll most likely have to get undressed and wear one of those one size fits all gowns with nothing allowed underneath. That was very embarrassing when I had the retina surgery. You'd think they'd have improved that by now.
Completely stripped down and wear a patient gown for cataract surgery? I never had to do anything like that when my cataracts were removed. I was fully clothed arriving, during and leaving. I think I had to remove my shoes and was given a pair of slippers to wear. I was only asked to wear a loose fitting or short sleeved shirt, presumably to make it easier to place a BP cuff, an IV (if you're going to be sedated), and any other monitoring gear. Is the outpatient facility at a hospital? Have you called to ask what kind of clothes you need to wear for the surgery? I went to an eye clinic. Some places might have you remove your shirt and wear a gown in place of the shirt, but you shouldn't need to have to completely strip down to your birthday suit. Call them and ask about that, at least so you'll know what to expect.
The entire procedure to remove a cataract is done in a very short amount of time, less than a half-hour. Getting prepped and your eye numbed up takes more time than the surgery does. If you're going to be given a relaxant, that can take a little bit of time to take effect. If you opt for sedation, that's put into the IV in the room where the surgery takes place. Once the equipment is in place and everything is ready to go, the sedative is added to the IV which takes effect within seconds.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know, maybe I wont need to change. To have the detached retina repaired I did, so thought I might for this as well. For some reason the doctor wants me to wait until late August to see him again. My cataract isn't going to get better so don't understand the wait. Oh well. I'll ask him then about whether I have to change out of my street clothes.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know, maybe I wont need to change. To have the detached retina repaired I did, so thought I might for this as well. For some reason the doctor wants me to wait until late August to see him again. My cataract isn't going to get better so don't understand the wait. Oh well. I'll ask him then about whether I have to change out of my street clothes.
I wore my street clothes. My guess would be that the undressing has to do with the relative risks, complications, and invasive nature of the surgeries -- working at the back of the eye is probably different than making a small opening in the front to remove a lens and replace it.
Regarding waiting -- maybe it's insurance related, vision has to degrade to a certain point to be paid for by insurance. Or the operating room is booked until then, or that's when the surgeon had an opening.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know, maybe I wont need to change. To have the detached retina repaired I did, so thought I might for this as well. For some reason the doctor wants me to wait until late August to see him again. My cataract isn't going to get better so don't understand the wait. Oh well. I'll ask him then about whether I have to change out of my street clothes.
The wait might be that the doctor has a pretty full schedule until then. As you said, your cataract isn't going to get any better. Although it may be getting worse, unless there's some other associated problem, the worsening is pretty gradual. It's often so slow that you barely know the difference from one day to the next, even over a couple of months. For me, even after the surgery date was scheduled, I still had to wait for another couple of months or so. The change of the cataracts didn't seem noticeably worse.
The clinic I went to told me if I had any questions at all to call them any time for answers. And that's exactly what they did. I was either connected to a staff member right away or someone got back to me quickly with little delay. They understand that many patients don't necessarily view having to undergo surgery as something to do handsprings of joy over. You've been through eye surgery. Even though it's necessary, it's still not much fun. For me, the prospect of having the surgery the first time was pretty nerve wracking. Even when I had the other eye done about a year later, I was still rather tense about undergoing the procedure. I thought they might think my questions were stupid or something. But they weren't like that at all. They were very compassionate and caring and willing to do whatever it took to help me be better informed and put me at ease.
You can wait until your appointment in late August if you want, but I would think you should be able to call them anytime to answer any questions that might be concerning to you. But that's up to you. That said, you are still important, and you have every right to know exactly what to expect long before the surgery, even though it may seem trivial to you, and be a very common routine procedure for them. I'm pretty sure they're understanding and willing to help.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know, maybe I wont need to change. To have the detached retina repaired I did, so thought I might for this as well. For some reason the doctor wants me to wait until late August to see him again. My cataract isn't going to get better so don't understand the wait. Oh well. I'll ask him then about whether I have to change out of my street clothes.
You might even call the place where you expect to have the cataract surgery and ask them wha t their policy about patients' clothing during surgery is.
Completely stripped down and wear a patient gown for cataract surgery? I never had to do anything like that when my cataracts were removed. I was fully clothed arriving, during and leaving. I think I had to remove my shoes and was given a pair of slippers to wear. I was only asked to wear a loose fitting or short sleeved shirt, presumably to make it easier to place a BP cuff, an IV (if you're going to be sedated), and any other monitoring gear. Is the outpatient facility at a hospital? Have you called to ask what kind of clothes you need to wear for the surgery? I went to an eye clinic. Some places might have you remove your shirt and wear a gown in place of the shirt, but you shouldn't need to have to completely strip down to your birthday suit. Call them and ask about that, at least so you'll know what to expect.
The entire procedure to remove a cataract is done in a very short amount of time, less than a half-hour. Getting prepped and your eye numbed up takes more time than the surgery does. If you're going to be given a relaxant, that can take a little bit of time to take effect. If you opt for sedation, that's put into the IV in the room where the surgery takes place. Once the equipment is in place and everything is ready to go, the sedative is added to the IV which takes effect within seconds.
Be sure to do your "due diligence" on the type of cataract lens you are getting. As someone mentioned earlier, beware of "upselling". My doctor sang the praises of a multi-focus lens and I'll admit I did not research it as well as I should have.
To get the multi-focus lens, I paid $2500 per eye OVER what Medicare paid and it was a terrible mistake. I was wowed by the prospect of not needing glasses afterward. Well, I still pretty much have to still wear reading glasses and the night glare is much, much worse than it was before. I have had to essentially give up driving at night. When I DID do my research (too late, too late), I found that many, many people had trouble with the type of lens I had inserted.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! I can't emphasize that enough.
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