How can I get the best results after combined glaucoma and cataract treatment, and what is recovery like?

The way to get the best results after any surgery, including combined glaucoma and cataract surgery, is to follow the instructions given by your doctor, use the prescribed eye drops, and go for the follow up appointments as arranged. Also, if the eye gets red or uncomfortable, or vision becomes very blurred after surgery, to go and see the doctor straight away.

Do observe the usual precautions after any eye surgery, including not rubbing or pressing on the eye, not splashing water in the eye, and using an eyeshield to cover the eye while sleeping for about a week. Specific instructions may differ slightly depending on the particular clinic/doctor.

Recovery is usually quite straightforward, and usually vision is quite good soon after surgery.

It is possible that in the early period, the eye pressure may fluctuate somewhat. There are now different kinds of operations to control the eye pressure, but if for example we talk about trabeculectomy, sometimes the doctor may need to do secondary procedures like cutting the flap stitch or doing a needling procedure if the aqueous fluid is not flowing well.

Do check with your doctor what exactly he/she will be doing, the specific post operative instructions, and also what possible secondary procedures might be necessary after the initial surgery.

Before any treatment or surgery, it is always important to first establish the reasons for surgery and the expected outcome. Your definition of best results may be different from that of the surgeon’s. Thus, I will advise for you to have a discussion with your surgeon prior to surgery to better understand the intent of the surgery and what it is trying to achieve and address. As with any surgery, there are risks involved. This is also an important aspect to discuss with your surgeon to help you better understand the limitations, if any, of the surgery.

Once a consensus between your surgeon and yourself has been reached, it would then be important to follow up closely with your surgeon for post-surgery reviews as well as be compliant to any medications that have been prescribed to help with healing and to reduce risk of infection.

Also, different surgeons may choose to do different procedures to address the same problem. As such, recovery time may vary for different treatment modalities.