HVSC hosts many ophthalmologists that have varying pre- and post-operative instructions. We suggest you refer to our “Public Surgery” page for information on locating the facility, what to expect the day-of, and the surgical process. If you any concerns and/or questions, please contact your ophthalmologist’s office.

To make an appointment with Dr. Belliveau, please get a referral from your optometrist. Once we receive the referral from your optometrist’s office, we will notify them that you are added to our list and will be contacted as soon as possible. Please note that referrals are also subject to triaging so wait-times may vary.

We recommend that you bring the following:

• Your provincial health card (ex. MSI)
• Private insurance information (if applicable)
• A reliable driver for after the appointment (you can expect to be dilated)
• An updated list of medications
• Your most up-to-date glasses and/or contact lenses
• Sunglasses! (you will appreciate these after dilation)

Yes, patients are awake during both cataract and RLE procedures. We offer a mild oral sedative called Ativan (“lorazepam”) to help calm and relax the body prior to surgery. The eye(s) are completely frozen topically using a thick gel-like anesthetic called Xylocaine meaning there is no pain involved with the procedure.

Both cataract and refractive lens exchange procedures take Dr. Belliveau about 10 minutes to perform per eye. You can expect to be in the prep-area much longer than this to give the eye(s) time to dilate properly, receive post-operative information, and have your medical history reviewed. In total, you can expect to be at HVSC for 2-2.5 hours on the day of surgery.

Generally, no. Instead of taking drops topically, Dr. Belliveau superficially injects the medications normally taken in drop form into the eye(s) at the end of the operation.The injected medication – Kenalog – slowly releases over the course of 4 to 6 weeks, continuously medicating the post-operative eye(s). If the patient is not a candidate for this medication, they will be made aware during surgical consultation.

As every eye is unique, so is every patient’s vision. Typically patients can expect to be fairly blurry, but functional, for the first day and see a significant improvement within the first 3 days to 1 week post-operatively. However, your vision as well as your brain’s adjustment to your new lenses can take upwards of 1 month to several weeks.

Time-off from work is generally task-related. If you are generally working at a computer or working upright, work can be resumed as you are comfortable. Heavy lifting, dirty and dusty environments, and high-intensity activities are not advised within the first week post-operatively, so work such as manual labour – for example – is not suggested.

Patients are typically seen by Dr. Belliveau the next morning after surgery. At this appointment, your visual acuities and eye health will be tested to see how your vision is progressing. If your vision is up to legal standard set by Registry of Motor Vehicles (under the Government of Nova Scotia), your doctor will clear you to drive. If not, your doctor will advise you when you will be safe to do so.