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Anaesthesia for cataract surgery

Modern cataract procedures use only light sedation to make you comfortable and relaxed. Many patients do not remember the procedure though they were not asleep at the time.

Almost all our procedures from Cataract Surgery SA are performed under “topical anaesthesia” or “no needle anaesthesia”. Topical anaesthesia uses drops only to numb the eye. Topical means there are none of the risks associated with injections around the eye.

General anaesthesia (going right to sleep) is very rarely performed for cataract surgery

Peribulbar anaesthesia which we use rarely uses a needle around the eye. There is a rare risk of complications due to the needle puncturing the wrong structures within the eye socket or even the eye itself. Alternatively the anaesthetic can be injected into the wrong place causing complications. Finally, injectional anesthesia means an eye patch must be worn over the eye afterwards whilst the anaesthetic wears off. This can be uncomfortable or irritating, and is particularly difficult for patients who do not have good vision in their other eye.