Before you have glaucoma surgery, your surgeon will meet with you. During this visit, they’ll:
Advertisement
Your surgeon will also give you a detailed list of pre-operative instructions. These can vary from person to person. In general, you’ll probably need to:
What happens depends on the type of surgery you’re having. Glaucoma surgeries are generally outpatient procedures, meaning you’ll come home the same day.
Laser surgeries, except for the cyclophotocoagulation procedures, usually happen in the ophthalmologist’s office. Your surgeon will probably do CPC procedures in an operating room.
For procedures your eye specialist performs, you’ll have local anesthesia, numbing eye drops and/or numbing injections for your eyes.
If you have a trabeculectomy, tube shunt surgery, MIGS procedures or a CPC procedure, you’re likely to be in an operating room. You’ll probably need intravenous (IV) sedation or general anesthesia. With IV sedation, you’ll have minimal pain or discomfort, but you’ll be awake. You won’t be awake if you have general anesthesia.
Advertisement
Most laser procedures take only minutes. MIGS procedures vary in length, depending on the procedure and if your surgeon is doing cataract surgery at the same time. The time needed for MIGS procedures is usually less than traditional incisional surgeries, like trabeculectomy and tube shunts, which could take up to approximately one hour.
Your provider will check on your eyes after laser surgeries, especially your eye pressure.
If you’ve had an in-office procedure with local anesthesia, you can leave and return to your day. If you have a procedure with anesthesia or sedation, you’ll need a driver to take you home.
After most of these procedures, you’ll have to return to your provider for follow-up appointments to monitor your eye pressure and recovery.
Surgeons use numbing medications and anesthesia to make sure you won’t feel pain during the surgery. You may have some soreness and irritation after the procedure.
The recovery time varies depending on the type of procedure you have.
For some in-office procedures, you’ll only need a day to rest and then you can get back to your normal activities. For other surgeries, you may need to limit some activities, like heavy lifting, for up to a month.
Advertisement
Typically, you’ll need eye drops and will get a schedule of upcoming appointments to monitor your vision and eye pressure.
You may have a bandage over your eye that you’ll have to keep dry for a certain amount of time. You shouldn’t rub your eye until your surgeon tells you that it’s OK to do so.
Your surgeon will send you home with directions on when to call and when to see them for follow-up appointments. Typically, you should call your provider if you have:
If you have glaucoma, your provider may suggest a procedure that will help drain aqueous fluid in your eye. They’ll work with you to decide which procedure will be best for managing your condition. Surgery may allow you to take less medicine and have fewer side effects. Contact your provider if you have any questions or concerns about your surgery.
Glaucoma can cause vision loss if left untreated. Cleveland Clinic can quickly diagnose glaucoma and give you the ongoing expert treatment you need.
Last reviewed on 03/22/2023.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.