Preparing for Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations worldwide — over 200,000 procedures annually in Australia alone. Most patients are anxious about eye surgery. This guide covers the pre-operative eye drop schedule, what to bring, fasting rules, and what actually happens on the day.
Preparing for Cataract Surgery (Pre-operative eye drops) start these before surge
- Your surgeon will prescribe eye drops to start 1–3 days before surgery: typically an antibiotic drop and sometimes an anti-inflammatory drop
- Start the drops exactly when instructed and continue on the day of surgery: these are important for reducing infection risk and inflammation
- If you use multiple drops, wait at least 5 minutes between each drop
- Tilt your head back, look up, pull the lower lid gently down, and drop into the inner corner — then blink once. Blot excess with a clean tissue.
- If you miss a dose: take it as soon as you remember. If it is close to the next dose, skip the missed one.
- Fasting: cataract surgery is usually performed under local anaesthetic (eye drops or a small injection), you may not need to fast
- If general anaesthetic or sedation is planned: nothing to eat for 6 hours, clear fluids until 2 hours before
- Continue all regular medications: blood pressure, heart, and other medications are generally taken as normal
- Stop blood thinners only if specifically instructed — many surgeons continue aspirin for cataract surgery
- Tell your surgeon if you take tamsulosin (Flomax) or similar alpha-blockers — these affect the pupil during surgery and the surgeon needs to know
Based on NHS cataract surgery patient information and Royal College of Ophthalmologists guidance.
Take a photo of your wound each day. The ghost overlay lines up your previous photo so you can spot changes. Drag the reveal slider to compare before and after. Bring the photos to your next appointment. If something looks off, try our wound symptom checker.
100% private. Photos stay on your device. Nothing uploaded.
📷 Open wound photo journal →Your recovery toolkit
Free interactive tools to track your recovery day by day. Everything stays on your device — nothing is uploaded or shared.
These tools support — never replace — the advice of your surgical team. If something feels wrong, contact your doctor or emergency services.