Extremely Sore Gritty Eyes After General Anesthetic?

Question

Previously I had cheek implants and during the recovery period the pain I had in my eyes was excruciating. It felt as if both my eyes had been scratched badly and that needles had been pushed into my eyes and it also felt as if grit was stuck underneath my eyelids. I'm concerned because tomorrow I am due to have the implants removed and I'll undergo further general anesthesia.Is this normal and are there any precautions I can take? Can the surgeon do anything different to avoid these complications?

Nima Shemirani, MD · Answer

Dear winterwolf,

	
		This can happen during surgery no matter how many precautions we take, and thankfully it is rare
	
		You should bring this up to your surgeon so he/she can recommend treatment


	Best regards,

	Nima Shemirani

Michael I. Echavez, MD · Answer

I'm not sure what may have been done during your first surgery to protect your eyes, but normally some ointment can be placed in them and they can be taped closed during the surgery to keep them moist. Usually, the anesthesiologist would be the person doing this, so I would mention your prior eye problem to the anesthesiologist for your upcoming procedure to remove your implants.

Michael Bowman, MD · Answer

Make sure to discuss this with the anesthesiologist and your facial plastic surgeon preoperatively. It sounds like you you had some degree of corneal abrasion after your previous surgery. This can usually be prevented by using eye ointment, taping the eyes shut, and by taking care when working around the closed eyes. If this does happen again after this surgery, make sure you mention it to your surgeon as you may need to get it checked out my your eye doctor.

Extremely Sore Gritty Eyes After General Anesthetic?

Answers (3)