Squint surgery

What is a squint?

A squint is when one eye appears straight and the other turns in, out, up or down. To make this better, you will need an operation. You will have to go to sleep for this.

What will happen on the day of surgery?

When you arrive at the surgical theatre you will be shown to your bed or chair. You can then get changed into your own pyjamas.

When you are ready for the operation, you are taken across to the anaesthetic room with your parent or carer (and teddy if you have brought one). Here you will meet the doctor who will give you the medicine which will make you go to sleep before you can count to 5, this is called an anaesthetic. Your parent or carer will be close by whilst you are having your operation.

How long will the operation take?

You may be asleep for up to 2 to 3 hours, but the nurse will look after the adult you have brought with you. Halfway through the operation the nurse will let your parent or carer known how you are getting on. As soon as you wake up, parent or carer will be there!

What will it feel like afterwards?

When you wake up, you may feel sleepy. You will be taken back to your bed where you are left to recover for as long as it takes, usually a few hours. You may go home when you no longer feel groggy, have been to the toilet and have had something to eat.

If you are ill after the operation from the anaesthetic, you may have to stay in the hospital overnight.

It may be uncomfortable to open your eyes at first. Sometimes they can feel as though you’ve got an eyelash or some grit in there.  Try not to rub your eyes, as this will make them sore. It will help to soothe your eyes if you have them gently bathed with cool sterile water, and the special drops also help to take the gritty feeling away.

The white part of your eye will be red, this is a sort of bruise, and like bruises on your skin, the redness will go away after some weeks. For the first couple of days your tears will be pink, this is because of a very small amount of blood in them and is nothing to worry about. Because your tears drain down your nose, so do not be surprised if your nose runs a bit pink too!

What happens when I go home?

You will be given special eye drops to use 4 times a day for 2 weeks after your operation, to help your eyes get better.

• You ned to be off school for around 1 or 2 weeks
• You cannot play P.E, games, or sports for up to 4 weeks or until the doctor tells you
• You cannot go swimming for 4 weeks or until the doctor tells you

For more information about the date of the operation please contact the waiting list coordinators on 0114 305 3559 or for any urgent queries please contact the ophthalmic nurses on bleep 250 from Monday to Friday 9am till 5pm.