Do they knock you out or are you wide awake? I am terrified of seeing something coming at my eye. I have two small cataracts and eye doctor said I am years away for now from surgery.
The anesthetic had gradations. Heaviest when the actual surgery is being done, then less so you can follow various instructions. You don’t notice anything. It’s all very smooth.
The eye patch is to keep bacteria or anything else from getting into your eye, so keep it on as long as you can bear it. Especially for the first night.
As for picking a doctor, ask around. We have so many great choices here in NYC. I followed my eye doctor’s recommendation (he used to do surgery but is getting older now). The surgeon’s chief of staff almost drove me insane but the surgery was fine. I won’t recommend him because of her. Ask around.
His experience was so easy that he can't wait to have the other eye done. "I wish I had this done years ago." He's thrilled to have his vision back with such little hassle and zero pain – to him, this procedure was easier than a dental cleaning.
The "worst" part for him was the eye drop regimen before and after, which was annoying because he had to pay attention to a schedule LOL. But really, not a big deal. (He's a typical male, a terrible patient, and if he thought it was easy-peasy, it was.)