General Information
Do not use aspirin, ibuprofen, or naprosyn for one week after your surgery.

Do not smoke for at least two weeks after your surgery. For the best results possible, try and quit completely.
After your surgery, rest quietly in bed the rest of the day. You may be out of bed the next day, but be gentle with yourself.

Sleep on your back with your head elevated to help minimize swelling. Try sleeping in a recliner chair or use several pillows or a large couch pillow in bed.

No bending over, lifting, or straining for four (4) days after your surgery.

Use the clear gel eye mask to cover your eyes and help reduce swelling and discomfort. It is best to place the mask in the refrigerator prior to using it to make it cold. Over the next 48 hours, use your cold mask every couple of hours for about 10-15 minutes at a time while awake. You may also use cold packs in addition to, or in conjunction with the eye mask by placing a cold pack on top of the eye mask. We have found that the best cold pack to use can be made by placing frozen peas in a ziplock bag.

You may get into the shower the day after your surgery. To clean around your eyelids, it is best to use hydrogen peroxide with a Q-tip and gently clean around the eyes. Do not remove the Steri-strips, although it is all right to get them wet.

If at any time your eyes feel dry and/or scratchy, we recommend any over-the-counter artificial tear drops, and use as directed as needed. If your eyes feel dry especially first thing in the morning or during the night while sleeping, it may be that your lids are not fully closing. If this happens, we recommend using ‘Lacrilube’, which is a prescription eye drop and will need to be called into your pharmacy.

Medication
You will be given a prescription for a pain medication. However, we recommend that you try taking extra-strength Tylenol for any discomfort prior to taking your prescription medication for pain. If you feel that you need your pain medication, take one or two tablets every four hours, only as needed.

Remember, the pain medication can cause constipation, itching, and nausea, so the sooner you can get off the pain medication and use only Tylenol, the better.

For constipation, you may use milk of magnesia or a stool softener of your choice.

For itching, stop the pain medication and take extra-strength Tylenol for pain and then take Benadryl 25 mg, one or two capsules every 4-6 yours as needed to help stop the itching.

For nausea, try and take your pain medication with food. If nausea persists, stop the pain medication and try taking extra-strength Tylenol, two tablets every four hours. If nausea still persists, you may need a prescription suppository. You will need to call us for that prescription, and please have your pharmacy number ready.

Swelling, bruising, and blurry vision are common after surgery. Swelling is usually at its worst at 48 yours after surgery, and gradually goes down over the next few weeks. Bruising can often last up to four weeks or even longer after surgery, but gradually fades. Any blurry vision should improve over the next several days.

Calls
We will call you the night of surgery to check your progress.
Emergency calls can be made at any time. However, we ask that you limit these to the unlikely situations of:

S udden loss of vision or severely diminished vision
Severe swelling, especially more on one side than the other
Severe pain that is not controlled with your pain medication
Fever over 101.5 degrees that does not resolve with Tylenol

General calls and prescription refills should be carried out during normal office hours.