Ophthalmic surgery

Eye surgery
Intervention
Eye surgery in the Middle Ages.
ICD-10-PCS	08
ICD-9-CM	08-16
MeSH	D013508
OPS-301 code	5-08...5-16
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Eye surgery, also known as ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa, typically by an ophthalmologist. The eye is a fragile organ, and requires extreme care before, during, and after a surgical procedure. An expert eye surgeon is responsible for selecting the appropriate surgical procedure for the patient, and for taking the necessary safety precautions.

Since the eye is heavily supplied by nerves, anesthesia is essential. Local anesthesia is most commonly used. Topical anesthesia using lidocaine topical gel are often used for quick procedures. Since topical anesthesia requires cooperation from the patient, general anesthesia is often used for children, traumatic eye injuries, major orbitotomies and for apprehensive patients. The physician administering anesthesia, or a nurse anesthetist or anesthetist assistant with expertise in anesthesia of the eye, monitors the patient's cardiovascular status. Sterile precautions are taken to prepare the area for surgery and lower the risk of infection. These precautions include the use of antiseptics, such as povidone-iodine, and sterile drapes, gowns and gloves.

Although the terms laser eye surgery and refractive surgery are commonly used as if they were interchangeable, this is not the case. Lasers may be used to treat nonrefractive conditions (e.g. to seal a retinal tear). Laser eye surgery or laser corneal surgery is a medical procedure that uses a laser to reshape the surface of the eye. This is done to correct myopia (short-sightedness), hypermetropia (long sightedness) and astigmatism (uneven curvature of the eye's surface). It is important to note that refractive surgery is not compatible with everyone, and rarely people may find that eyewear is still needed after surgery.

Recent developments also include procedures that can change eye color from brown to blue.