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Comment by joshlemer | Hacker News Reader

What happens if a patient accidentally looks left or right during the surgery? I would be afraid of subconsciously/accidentally looking one way or an other during the surgery, but would that not cause a catastrophe?

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I've had multiple eye surgeries. Prep includes putting lidocaine jelly over the eye, which will immobilize your eye from movement during the procedure.

Thank you for this. That's the primary thing I wanted to know from this post too.

Although I will say having my eyes immobilized also sounds scary. And I feel like I would constantly be "checking" that I still can't move them.

Don't stress-test stuff in prod.

This is also my greatest fear. The lidocaine isn't much consolation as it seems like it could easily wear off or they don't get the dose right and you move you eye.. the stuff of nightmares.

Same here. I've had surgeries for cataracts and detached retina (2 of each). Eye surgery has outstanding outcomes and involves virtually no physical discomfort.

I'm profoundly grateful for modern medical technology, as I would otherwise likely be blind in both eyes.

The needle they use is short and does not extend very far inside the eyeball. (No, you can't see the needle.) If the eye jerks while the needle is inserted, it won't move far. Eyeball tissue is thick and strong and the presence of the needle will limit the eye's motion to only about 2-3 mm, doing no damage. The needle enters the side of the eyeball, peripheral to the sensory part of the retina.

An eye flinch is exactly what happened to me when I got my latest injection of VEGF-inhibitor to counteract macular degeneration due to 20+ years of diabetes. It was no big thing, just a little disconcerting.

We call those happy little accidents.

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