“What kind of anesthesia will I be given for my cataract surgery?”
What kind of anesthesia is given to a patient for cataract surgery? Is it local anesthesia, or will I be put under general anesthesia?
9 Answers
Typically local anesthesia
Typically done under local anesthesia with or without sedation
Typically you are given a sedative prior to the surgeon administering local anesthesia to "numb" the eye. The injection is not given into the eye itself but rather an injection is done below or around the eye itself. I have not done an injection (block) for eye surgery for a very long time. Back then we did retrobulbar blocks, where a needle is inserted through the skin below the eye into the eye socket and behind the eye itself. Today there is a different approach which still requires local anesthesia. General anesthesia is rarely utilized and usually reserved for unconventional situations, for example, if a patient has tremors and cannot lie still.
Most insurance companies will not cover the patient to have an anesthesiologist give you general anesthesia.
Rarely is anesthesia anything other than some light sedation with local for cataract surgery.
You typically get moderate sedation. You breathe on your own but you are awake and cooperative, occasionally general anesthesia can be used but it is not usual
Usually local anestheaia with minimal IV sedation
Today, cataratacts are removed under topical, that is, eye drop, anesthetics. A local anesthetic drop is instilled in the eye which provides excellent eye anesthesia. Intravenous sedation usually is given as well, and often keeps patients from having any memory of their procedure.
We generally give a short-acting, intense sedative agent and then perform a nerve block for the eye.
