Prepping for your eye surgery: The ultimate guide

Before your Optimax eye surgery

Patients who have booked in for eye surgery with us always want to know how to prepare thoroughly for their treatment. We have a number of guidelines and advice to help your treatment and recovery go as smoothly as possible. If, after reading this blog post, you still have questions about how to prepare for your surgery with us, please contact your designated patient advisor, who will be able to answer your queries and set your mind at ease.

Types of eye surgery

We offer several different types of eye surgery at Optimax: laser eye surgery, lens exchange surgery, implantable contact lenses, and cataract surgery. The advice for preparing for each of these procedures is similar, as they all involve a recovery period during which you’ll need to rest and require assistance from friends or family around the home. The type of surgery you have will depend on a number of factors, such as your age, prescription and eye health. You can read more about suitability on our dedicated website page here.

When you have treatment at Optimax, we advise that you...

Stop wearing contact lenses

Before you have treatment, you will need to remove your contact lenses. This is because contact lenses can alter the surface of your eye and prevent the treatment given from being accurate. Depending on the type of contact lenses you wear, we suggest removing them for the following periods before treatment:

• Soft, disposable, or toric lenses: remove two days before
• Extended wear soft lenses: remove one week before
• Hard, gas permeable: remove for three weeks before

The changes to the surface of your eye also affect the scans and examinations performed at your initial consultation, which is why the removal guidelines listed above also apply for your consultation, as well as for surgery day. We would suggest that you wear glasses instead of contacts in the days or weeks leading up to the day of your treatment, in order for your surgery to be as successful as possible.

Avoid makeup

You shouldn’t wear any makeup, hairspray or perfume on surgery day. This is because the ingredients and chemicals they contain may irritate your eyes and affect your healing process after surgery. If you have worn makeup in the days leading up to surgery, ensure that you have thoroughly cleaned your eye area before your treatment to remove all traces of it. We would also suggest that you avoid eye makeup for two weeks after surgery, to ensure your eyes heal thoroughly and reduce your risk of infection.

Plan for time off work

All patients – no matter which eye surgery procedure you’re having at Optimax – will need time off work to recover. The amount of time needed will vary depending on which treatment you’ve had and on your personal recovery journey. Most LASIK patients will require around 3 days off work, while LASEK patients may need up to a week off. Patients who have had lens treatments (ICL, RLE and cataract treatments) are typically back to work 3-5 days after surgery, but occasionally require up to a week off.

Speak to your employer before booking your surgery with us and be prepared to need extra time off, in case your eyes take longer to heal.

Apply eye drops

Eye drops are an essential part of the recovery process for all eye surgeries. You will be given a combination of antibiotic and hydrating eye drops to use after your surgery, with detailed guidance on when to use each. This is a crucial part of your healing process as the drops prevent dryness and minimise your risk of developing an infection in the days and weeks after treatment. You should follow advice from your surgeon, optometrist and patient advisor at Optimax to help you achieve the best visual result possible. If you experience any discomfort due to dryness in the weeks and months after surgery, eye drops will help relieve it.

Arrange help

After surgery – whether that’s the laser or lens treatment – you will need to rest at home, preferably with your eyes closed for the first day to avoid screens and aid your healing process. Lots of our patients prefer to nap once they’re home after surgery as this is what they find most comfortable. You also will be unable to drive after treatment until you have been signed off as safe to drive by an optometrist, so we recommend that you have a friend or relative assist you where possible. They will need to help you get home, and potentially assist you around your home for the first day. If you have children, we recommend having someone with you to help look after them for the first 24-36 hours.

Rest and recover

Resting sufficiently after your surgery will go a long way to ensuring that your eyes heal well. We would suggest avoiding screens for the first couple of days and not doing any activities that might strain your eyes, such as reading or repeatedly focusing your eyes on close-up visual ranges. Lots of our patients suggest listening to audiobooks or podcasts during these first couple of days, as a way to rest their eyes but still find entertainment!

Dress for comfort

On the day of your treatment, you will need to dress in non-fibrous clothing as this minimises the risk of lint or fibres entering your eyes. These can cause irritation and potentially can impact your healing process, so if you can avoid this by dressing in something different, you should. We would also recommend wearing clothes you feel comfortable in, as you can expect to be in the clinic for around 4 hours on the day of your treatment.

You may also want to consider wearing a top which doesn’t have to be pulled over your head. You will likely be wearing eye shields to protect your eyes while you’re resting and napping at home on the first day, so wearing a garment which zips or buttons up at the front means that you won’t disrupt your eye shields when getting dressed or undressed.

Ask questions

Everyone at Optimax, from your patient advisor to your optometrist to your surgeon, is there to speak to you about your surgery. We can answer questions in the clinic at every stage of your treatment journey or, if you have a question while you’re at home, you can call our customer services team on 0800 093 1110. They have a wealth of knowledge and are more than happy to give you further information or details about what to expect.

We want you to feel confident about your decision to proceed to surgery, and there’s no such thing as a silly question. Please do get in touch with us if there is anything you would like to discuss, no matter what stage of the treatment journey you’re in. Let us know if there’s anything we can help with – send us an email to enquiry@optimax.co.uk or give us a call on 0800 093 1110.