Benefits Of Opting For Sustained Release Cataract Surgery Steroids

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If you are facing cataract surgery, you may be given various options for the medications used during and after the procedure. One of the options you will face is the use of steroids. Steroids are used as a way of reducing inflammation in and around the surgical site. What may surprise you is when your doctor mentions the use of sustained release steroids as an option. Here are a few of the benefits to this type of release option and what you need to know about each benefit.

Reduced Sudden On-Set Swelling

When you have cataract surgery, you may experience moments following the surgery that have sudden on-set swelling. What this means is that the swelling will be reduced for a long period of time, but when the medication stops working, the swelling comes back immediately. This swelling can come back quickly and can be extreme. When you use a sustained release steroid option, the swelling is kept at a reduced level, and you have fewer chances of sudden on-set swelling from the steroids decreasing in your system. In some cases, your medication regimen following your surgery is kept so the steroids overlap to reduce the swelling further for longer periods of time. 

Single Dose Options

When you use a sustained release option, you may find that your doctor offers a single dose option. These options allow you to have the steroid given to you during the surgery. The sustained release lasts throughout the surgery and long after the surgery is over. In some cases, the single dose can last for over a day, which allows you some healing time following the surgery. This is ideal if you are concerned with prescriptions and costs following the surgery.

Prescription Options

You may find that your doctor wants you to use sustained release steroids before the surgery itself. This is usually due to moments when your eye may be swelling or there may be inflammation around the targeted cataract area. The prescriptions can also be for sustained release instead of traditional steroids for inflammation. This means the benefit of reduced prescription amounts and the ability to take one dose per day rather than several doses a day leading up to the surgery itself. 

If you have questions about the sustained release cataract surgery steroids, consider a consultation with your doctor. They can answer the questions and concerns you have. They can also give you other options if you feel that the ones given are not something you want to do. If you have any previous allergies to steroids or long term steroid usage for inflammation, let your doctor know at the time they are mentioned as a medication option.


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