Preparing for Eye Surgery
🧠 Quick Answer
Preparing for eye surgery means more than showing up on the scheduled day. It usually includes stopping contact lenses when advised, reviewing your medicines and medical history, arranging transportation, avoiding eye makeup before surgery, following fasting instructions if sedation is planned, and understanding what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.
Many patients focus only on the surgery itself. In reality, good preparation starts earlier. The days or weeks before eye surgery are when your surgeon confirms that the measurements are accurate, the procedure choice is appropriate, and the practical details are in place for a smoother and safer experience.
Whether you are preparing for LASIK, PRK, TransPRK, SMILE, ICL, refractive lens exchange, or another refractive procedure, the principle is the same: the better the preparation, the fewer the avoidable surprises. Preparation helps protect measurement accuracy, reduces unnecessary cancellations, and gives patients more confidence on surgery day.
🧩 Focus: Practical preoperative preparation for refractive eye surgery
👁 Goal: Help patients understand how to prepare safely, what to avoid, what to bring, and how to reduce common last-minute problems
🛡 Evidence-Based: Preferred Practice Patterns • Standards of Care • Systematic Reviews • Meta-Analyses
REFRACTIVE SURGERY Knowledge Hub
Start with the complete guide:
🔬 Preparing for Eye Surgery Anatomy Micro-Primer
- Cornea: The clear front window of the eye. Many refractive procedures depend on very accurate corneal measurements before surgery.
- Tear film: The thin tear layer over the eye surface. Dry eye or unstable tears can affect measurements, comfort, and healing.
- Lens: The natural lens inside the eye. In lens-based surgery, lens status helps guide the best procedure choice.
- Retina: The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Some retinal problems need treatment or clearance before surgery proceeds.
📘 Preparing for Eye Surgery Terminology Glossary
- Preoperative: The period before surgery.
- Biometry: Measurements of the eye used for planning certain lens-based procedures.
- Dilation: Eye drops that enlarge the pupil so the doctor can examine the inside of the eye.
- Sedation: Medicine used to help a patient relax during some procedures.
- Informed consent: The process of explaining the benefits, risks, alternatives, and limits of surgery before the patient agrees.
- Ocular surface: The front surface of the eye, including the cornea, conjunctiva, eyelids, and tear film.
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Key Learning Points
- Preparing for eye surgery begins before the actual procedure day.
- Contact lens wear can temporarily change corneal shape, so many patients need to stop lenses before evaluation and surgery.
- A complete medication and medical-history review is important because some conditions and medicines affect healing or candidacy.
- Transportation, fasting instructions, eye-makeup avoidance, and informed consent review all matter.
- Good preparation helps improve safety, reduce stress, and lower the chance of preventable delays or cancellations.
Why Preparing for Eye Surgery Matters
Preparation is not just paperwork. It is part of the treatment itself. Accurate planning depends on reliable measurements, and reliable measurements depend on a stable eye surface, stable refraction, and good communication between patient and surgeon. If a patient wears contact lenses too close to the exam, forgets to mention important medicines, or arrives unprepared for dilation or sedation, the surgical plan may need to change or be postponed.
Preparation also helps with expectations. Many refractive procedures are elective. That means patients benefit from having the time and clarity to understand not only the possible benefits, but also the limits, alternatives, recovery pattern, and possible side effects. When patients are well prepared, they are usually calmer and more confident on the day of surgery.
💡 Analogy
Preparing for eye surgery is like preparing for an important flight. Buying the ticket is not enough. You still need the right documents, the correct bag, the right arrival time, and a clear plan. Surgery is similar: the best results often come from good preparation before the main event.
What to Do in the Weeks Before Eye Surgery
1) Follow contact lens instructions carefully
One of the most common preparation steps is stopping contact lens wear before evaluation and surgery. Contact lenses can temporarily alter corneal shape, which may affect measurements and planning. The exact timing depends on the type of contact lens and your surgeon’s protocol. Many clinics advise longer lens-free periods for rigid lenses than for soft lenses. Never guess. Follow your clinic’s exact instructions.
2) Share your full eye and medical history
Your surgeon should know about dry eye, allergies, prior eye surgery, trauma, herpes eye disease, glaucoma, retinal problems, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and pregnancy or breastfeeding status when relevant. Even details that seem unrelated can matter, because healing and candidacy are influenced by more than the glasses prescription.
3) Review all medications and supplements
Tell your doctor about prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, eye drops, herbal products, and supplements. Some medicines can affect tear film, vision stability, or healing. Do not stop any medicine on your own unless your doctor specifically tells you to do so.
4) Treat ocular surface problems early
If you have dry eye, blepharitis, or meibomian gland dysfunction, your surgeon may advise treating these before surgery. This can improve comfort, measurement quality, and healing. Patients sometimes want to “push through” dryness to get surgery done faster, but that is rarely the smart move.
5) Ask questions before signing up emotionally and financially
Preparation is easier when the patient understands the procedure choice. Ask what surgery is being recommended, why it fits your eye, what alternatives exist, what trade-offs are expected, and what type of recovery is normal. This helps avoid regret caused by misunderstanding rather than by the surgery itself.
What to Do in the Days Before Surgery
Confirm your final instructions
By the last few days before surgery, you should know the exact arrival time, whether to eat or fast, which medicines to continue, which eye drops to bring or start, and whether a driver is required. Do not rely on memory alone. Recheck your written instructions.
Arrange transportation
Many patients should not drive after a long preoperative evaluation or after surgery, especially if dilation, sedation, or immediate blurry vision is expected. Arrange a responsible companion or transport plan ahead of time rather than improvising on the day itself.
Review your consent carefully
Informed consent is not meant to be rushed. Read the form, ask about anything you do not understand, and make sure the possible risks, benefits, limitations, and alternatives have been explained in plain language. A confident patient is usually a better prepared patient.
What to Do the Day Before Surgery
- Follow any instructions about washing your face and eyelids.
- Avoid eye makeup if your clinic advises this before surgery.
- Do not wear false eyelashes or heavy creams around the eyes.
- Prepare your sunglasses, documents, and postoperative drops if already dispensed.
- Sleep early so you arrive calm and well rested.
Some patients treat the day before surgery like a normal day and forget that even small things matter. Eye makeup, contact lenses, missed instructions, and last-minute sleep deprivation can all make the surgery day more stressful than it needs to be.
What to Do on Surgery Day
Come clean and comfortable
Wear comfortable clothing. Avoid perfume, cologne, hairspray, and heavy face products near the eyes if your clinic advises this, because some products can interfere with the treatment environment or increase contamination risk.
Bring your documents and medicines
Bring valid identification, your payment documents if needed, your medication list, and any prescribed eye drops. If the clinic told you to bring previous records or glasses, bring those too.
Expect waiting, repetition, and safety checks
Even when the surgery itself is quick, the overall visit may involve repeated verification, rechecking of measurements, consent confirmation, and preoperative preparation. This is normal. Repetition in surgery is usually a sign of safety, not inefficiency.
What to Bring
- Valid ID and clinic paperwork
- Your glasses, if requested
- Prescribed eye drops or postoperative kit
- A list or photo of your medications
- Sunglasses for comfort after surgery
- A companion or driver when required
What Not to Do Before Eye Surgery
- Do not keep wearing contact lenses if you were told to stop.
- Do not hide medical conditions, medicines, or pregnancy status.
- Do not wear eye makeup if your clinic told you not to.
- Do not assume you can drive yourself home.
- Do not sign consent forms without understanding them.
- Do not compare procedures by price alone without understanding the medical reasoning.
🚨 Emergency Warning
Call your surgeon or clinic right away before surgery if you develop a painful red eye, eye discharge, sudden drop in vision, fever with active infection, facial rash near the eye, or any new eye injury. Elective eye surgery may need to be postponed until the problem is properly evaluated.
Common Mistakes Patients Make
A common mistake is treating preoperative instructions as optional suggestions. Another is assuming that “feeling fine” means the eye is ready. Refractive surgery planning is measurement-sensitive. Contact lens wear, dry eye, poor sleep, missed instructions, and last-minute medication confusion can all interfere with the process. Patients also sometimes underestimate the practical side: arranging transportation, taking a break from work, preparing the home for recovery, and setting realistic expectations.
How to Prepare Emotionally
It is normal to feel excited and nervous at the same time. One of the best ways to reduce anxiety is to know the plan. Ask what you will see, feel, and hear during the procedure. Ask how long it usually takes and what the first few hours afterward are usually like. Patients often feel calmer when the experience is explained clearly rather than left to imagination.
How to Prepare Your Home and Schedule
Think ahead. Prepare a clean place to rest, have your prescribed drops ready, save your clinic number, and avoid scheduling demanding tasks right after surgery. If your work involves long screen hours, outdoor exposure, heavy physical activity, or night driving, it helps to plan the first few days realistically rather than assuming you will instantly function at full speed.
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🏁 Take-Home Message
Preparing for eye surgery is part of getting the best possible result. Follow your clinic’s instructions carefully, stop contact lenses when advised, review your medicines and health history honestly, avoid last-minute shortcuts, and make practical arrangements for the surgery day and recovery period. Good preparation helps make good surgery even better.
FAQ
1) Why do I need to stop contact lenses before eye surgery?
Contact lenses can temporarily change corneal shape. If that shape is altered, the preoperative measurements may be less accurate, which can affect surgical planning.
2) Can I wear makeup on the day of eye surgery?
Usually this is discouraged, especially eye makeup. Follow your clinic’s exact instructions, because makeup, false lashes, and creams around the eyes may increase contamination risk.
3) Do I need someone to drive me home?
Often yes. This is especially true if your eyes will be dilated, if sedation is planned, or if vision may be blurry immediately after the procedure.
4) Why does my surgeon ask so many questions about my health and medicines?
Because eye surgery planning depends on more than your prescription. Some medical conditions and medications affect tear film, vision stability, wound healing, and safety.
5) What should I bring on surgery day?
Bring identification, documents, your medication list, glasses if requested, prescribed eye drops if already given, and sunglasses for comfort after surgery.
6) What is the biggest preparation mistake patients make?
A very common mistake is ignoring or underestimating preoperative instructions, especially contact lens stoppage, transportation planning, and informed consent review.
📚 References
- American Academy of Ophthalmology. Refractive Surgery Preferred Practice Pattern®. Updated 2024.
- American Academy of Ophthalmology. Refractive Management/Intervention Summary Benchmark.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What should I expect before, during, and after surgery?
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. LASIK Surgery Checklist.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When is LASIK not for me?
🤝 Roque Eye Clinic Patient Education Series
Dr. Manolette Roque | Dr. Barbara Roque
St. Luke's Medical Center Global City | Asian Hospital Medical Center
Philippines
Medical Review: Roque Advisory Council
Last Updated: March 2026
Medical Disclaimer
This article is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace professional medical consultation.
