Per-operative COVID-19 modifications for oculoplastic service: patients perspective and regional review of practice of a protective draping technique.

Purpose: COVID-19 has posed problems for oculoplastic surgeons. One issue we felt needed to be addressed was the way patients are draped for surgery. Traditionally patients are draped with their full face exposed, and as a result, aerosols generated from both the patient and surgical team put the other party at risk.

Alfentanil sedation for oculoplastic surgery: the patient experience.

Purpose: A number of agents have previously been reported to be safe and effective for sedation and analgesia in ophthalmic surgery under local anaesthesia, but there has been no previous patient-focused assessment of this form of conscious sedation. We present a patient satisfaction survey, including a validated pain score, for patients undergoing oculoplastic procedures under local anaesthesia with alfentanil sedation.

Methods: A prospective, non-randomized, questionnaire-based study of the experience, satisfaction and pain scores of consecutive patients undergoing oculoplastic procedures under local anaesthesia with alfentanil sedation at University Hospital, Coventry, UK, under the care of one Consultant Oculoplastic Surgeon between 2006 and 2009.

A new technique of alfentanil-induced conscious sedation for oculoplastic surgery.

This technique describes a new painless method of injecting local anaesthetic in a highly pain-sensitive area of the body-around the eyes. We describe how a new technique using a bolus of intravenous alfentanil can help alleviate patient discomfort during the injection of the local anaesthetic and also reduce the amount of local anaesthetic injected. This also helps oculoplastic surgeons to work in a relaxed environment, whilst still utilizing the efficiencies that are provided by an ambulatory day surgery unit.