PREPARATION (Printable PDF Version)

Preop Eye Drop Medications:

Please refer to the instructions you received from your surgeon.

Medications

If you are diabetic, you will probably be instructed to skip your morning insulin or oral medication. This is because you will not be eating breakfast prior to your surgery.

Unless instructed otherwise, you may take the rest of your usual medications with a sip of water. In particular, do not skip usual medications taken for your heart, blood pressure, or breathing conditions. You can and should bring any prescription inhalers and nitroglycerin pills with you.

Fasting

Because of the sedation you will receive during your surgery, you are required to have an empty stomach.

1. No meals after midnight.
2. Up to five hours before your arrival time, you may have dry toast with nothing on it, water, black coffee, clear tea, clear broth, carbonated beverages. NO MILK/NO CREAM/NO POWDERED CREAMER.
3. Up to two hours before your arrival time, you may have water, black coffee, clear tea, clear broth, carbonated beverages. NO MILK/NO CREAM/NO POWDERED CREAMER.

Attire

You will not need to fully undress, but please do not wear an undershirt. Wear a loose short sleeve shirt that fully opens and buttons up in the front. Wear loose fitting pants, such as sweatpants, and comfortable shoes. Please do not wear hairpins or eye makeup. Leave jewelry and any unnecessary valuables at home.

TRANSPORTATION

Because of the sedation, you may not drive following surgery and must arrange transportation home. We have a parking lot behind the surgery center. Approaching the surgery center via El Camino Real from the south, turn right into our driveway. The patient entrance is immediately on the right. After dropping you off, your driver can park in the rear. We ask that you bring only one companion. While most surgeries typically take less than 30 minutes, the preparations and recovery time will make your visit last approximately 2.5 to 3 hours. If your driver leaves, please have them carry a cell phone so that they can be notified when you are ready to go home. You should be discharged from the center into the care of a responsible adult.

CHECK–IN

Please bring in any insurance cards and photo I.D. For those with co-pays, co-insurance or without insurance, we require payment with a credit card, check or cash upon arrival. You will be asked to sign a separate consent form for the surgery center — signifying your consent to have surgery. (Consent Form Sample.) Please notify your surgeon if you would like to review this prior to your surgery date. Make every effort to have your questions answered by your surgeon before you arrive.

PREOPERATIVE PREPARATIONS

After registering, you will enter the preoperative area. The nursing staff will administer eye medications, such as dilating drops. An I.V. will be started in your arm so that sedatives can be administered during the operation. Because the eye medications require a significant amount of time to work, a relative or friend can accompany you during this waiting period in the preoperative area. If you do not speak English, please bring a companion who does.

DURING SURGERY

Your surgery will be done with Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC). In addition to the anesthetic administered by your eye surgeon, you will receive light intravenous sedation that will relax you without putting you to sleep.

During the operation you will be awake enough to follow your surgeon's instructions. Your eye will be numb, but you may feel drops and some mild pressure at times. Your lids will be held open so that you can't blink. You will not see instruments or the surgery itself. You will only be able to see bright lights and colors during the operation. Most patients relax and listen to the background music. Because of the sedation you may or may not remember everything that happens in the operating room. In addition to administering the sedation, your anesthesiologist will be monitoring your heart rate, blood pressure, and the oxygen level of your blood during the procedure.

RECOVERY

You will be able to return home after a brief check in the recovery area. For cataract surgery, we do not expect to restrict your diet, your activities, your sleeping position, or the use of your eyes for TV or reading after surgery. Aspirin, Tylenol, or other over-the-counter pain relievers are usually adequate for any post-op aching. It is generally advisable to take a nap to decrease any residual effects from the sedatives. Sleeping also lessens the watering and the scratchy feeling that is normal during the first day.

You should expect your vision to be quite blurred at first. It is very common for your pupil to remain enlarged from the dilating drops for up to 36 hours. The sedatives can also blur your recollection of the day's events. For this reason, it is best to save any non-essential questions for your first postoperative office visit.

For the comfort and convenience of our patients and their family members, our center has a handicapped accessible entrance and exit, ample parking, and a spacious reception area.

DIRECTIONS

From San Mateo via 280:
Exit Magdalena Road, turn left, and cross Foothill Expressway (street changes to Springer). Turn right (South) onto El Camino Real. After Shoreline/Miramonte, surgery center is on left. Continue past it; make U-turn at Castro. After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

From San Mateo via 101:
Exit onto Hwy 85 South (towards Santa Cruz). After 1 mile, exit Hwy 82 towards El Camino Real – Grant Road. After exiting onto Hwy 82, you will come to a traffic light intersection: El Camino Real. Turn right, onto El Camino Real, heading north. The surgery center will be exactly 1.0 mile on the right. Before reaching the surgery center, you will pass through 2 traffic light intersections (first Calderon St, then Castro St). After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

From San Jose via 101:
Exit Hwy 237 (to Mountain View-Alviso Rd). Freeway forks after 1 mile. Stay left, to Hwy 82 North (Mountain View). After exiting onto Hwy 82, you will come to a traffic light intersection: El Camino Real. Turn right, onto El Camino Real, heading north. The surgery center will be exactly 1.0 mile on the right. Before reaching the surgery center, you will pass through 2 traffic light intersections (first Calderon St, then Castro St). After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

From East Bay via 237:
Exit Hwy 237 (to Mountain View-Alviso Rd). Freeway forks after 1 mile. Stay left, to Hwy 82 North (Mountain View). After exiting onto Hwy 82, you will come to a traffic light intersection: El Camino Real. Turn right, onto El Camino Real, heading north. The surgery center will be exactly 1.0 mile on the right. Before reaching the surgery center, you will pass through 2 traffic light intersections (first Calderon St, then Castro St). After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

From San Jose via 280:
Exit Hwy 85 North (to Mountain View). Proceed 2.5 miles to El Camino Real exit. Do not take El Camino Real Sunnyvale exit. Take 2nd exit – Hwy 82 North (towards El Camino Real – Mountain View). Proceed North on El Camino Real. The 3rd intersection is Castro Street. After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

From Saratoga via 85:
Exit Hwy 85 North (to Mountain View). Proceed 2.5 miles to El Camino Real exit. Do not take El Camino Real Sunnyvale exit. Take 2nd exit – Hwy 82 North (towards El Camino Real – Mountain View). Proceed North on El Camino Real. The 3rd intersection is Castro Street. After crossing Castro Street, the entrance to the surgery center is just beyond the Passage to India Restaurant on the right.

YAG PREPARATION (Printable PDF Version)

The YAG laser procedure is not true "surgery" and it is performed in a small treatment room rather than an operating room. You should prepare for this just as you would for an eye examination in your doctor's office. Your regular medications, such as pills or eye drops, should be taken at the normal times. You will not change clothing, nor receive any sedation. Only the treated eye will be dilated, and it will be numbed with anesthetic drops.

You will be seated at an eye microscope similar to that used for a routine eye exam. The microscope is used to steady your head, and to focus and administer the laser treatment. A special focusing lens will be placed on the eye to control eye movements and to prevent the lids from closing. Because the amount of laser energy is so small, there is no effect on the other eye or other parts of your body. There is a clicking sensation as the laser is administered. Following the treatment, there may be temporary blurring during the first day. The eye may be slightly irritated later in the day, but pain is uncommon, and a bandage will not be necessary.