Can strabismus surgery in adults be done with topical or local anesthesia?
Some strabismus surgery in teenagers and adults can be done with a local anesthetic injection through the lower eyelid to numb the nerves around the eyeball. Moreover, topical anesthesia may be used in cataract surgery and consists of numbing eye drops to the surface of the eye. However, drops alone do not provide sufficient patient comfort to be used during most other kinds of eye surgery. Hence, local or general anesthesia is used most commonly for eye surgery. If local or topical anesthesia is used, the patient must be still during the procedure to avoid potentially serious complications that may result from sudden unexpected movements. A medication to act as a sedative or to reduce pain may be administered through the IV during surgery as necessary to keep the patient comfortable.
