Your procedure will be completed in the operating room, and it can be done under either local or general anesthesia. If you receive local anesthesia, your eye will be numbed. If given general anesthesia, you’ll be given an IV for sedation. If you’re getting local anesthesia, your doctor may have given you a sedative to take ahead of time to make it easier to relax.
Your eye will be numbed, cleaned, and fitted with a lid speculum to hold it open. Then, you’ll be covered in a drape that exposes nothing but your eye. During the procedure, you’ll know the surgeon is operating, but you shouldn’t be able to feel anything.
Your surgeon will open a bleb in the top of your eye. This will be done beneath your eyelid, so it won’t be visible after the procedure. Once the new drainage site has been created, your surgeon will place sutures near the site that are meant to hold the “flap” over the bleb open, as the site must not reseal during the healing process. Your stitches will not dissolve and will need to be removed by your doctor within about two weeks.
Surgery should last between 45 and 60 minutes. After the procedure, your eye will be patched and shielded until your follow-up appointment with your surgeon the next day.