After an enucleation surgery, you may be required to stay at the hospital overnight under observational care. Prepare in advance for this possibility. You will have a pressure patch in place for the first 2-5 days. This patch is intended to minimize swelling of the socket tissues following the enucleation. While this pressure patch is in place it is common to experience difficulty in opening and closing the remaining eye. This condition usually resolves itself within the first post-operative day and is not unusual. You will also be given a prescription for pain medication as well as an antibiotic. Please follow these medications as instructed. It is not uncommon to experience pain following this procedure. Please do not hesitate to call our office if you feel the medication is not working for you, or if you have any questions in regards to your post-operative symptoms and care. We will alter your medication as much as needed to help ease your discomfort. After the pressure patch is removed, the eye area will appear bruised and swollen and may appear dramatic. Antibiotic eye-drops and oral medications are typically started as soon as the pressure patch is discarded. The bruising and swelling will subside over time and usually within the first two weeks. The healing time can vary depending on each individuals natural healing response. Temporary Iris conformers, a contact lens-like covering that appears similar to your natural eye, are available from our office. These are designed to be used in the interim period before being fit for your permanent prosthetic. Ask about ordering one from our office, and we can guide you and assist you in your selection. Six to eight weeks following your procedure you will visit with an ocularist who will fit you with your final custom ocular prosthesis. Some tearing in the eye is quite normal following the insertion of the prosthesis. Some patients may even buildup a thick layer of mucous on the prosthesis. This will sometimes require that the artificial eye be removed periodically and cleaned. However, in most cases a good cleaning can be achieved using an irrigating solution and without removing the prosthesis. Each individual will develop and practice a maintenance routine that fit his or her lifestyle. The most common side effect of an enucleation is drooping of the upper eyelid over the operated eye. This can and will need to be corrected in order to give your prosthesis its optimal fit and to give the artificial eye its natural appearance. This will require further but minor surgery to correct the problem. Your surgeon will discuss this with you, if further surgery is needed after seeing you for your follow-up appointment. Please call our office if you have any questions about the information you have just read or if you are experiencing any difficulty post-operatively. If you need to call our office after 5:00 pm Monday-Friday, or on the weekend you can leave a message with the answering service and we will return your call promptly on Monday morning, or in the case of an emergency one of our surgeons can be paged.