Educational draft · awaiting clinical reviewUse Rapid for revision, not patient-care decisions. Check current national and local guidance and the BNF or BNFC before acting.
Increasing pain, redness or visual loss after eye surgery can indicate infection, pressure disturbance, wound problems or retinal complications.
Action: Contact the operating eye service or emergency ophthalmology immediately for new significant deterioration; do not defer assessment to a routine follow-up or alter steroid treatment empirically without examining the cause.
Synopsis
Triage new symptoms after eye surgery using the procedure and recovery trajectory, recognise infection and pressure or retinal emergencies, and apply intraocular-gas precautions safely.
Ask which eye, which procedure and when it occurred, then compare the current symptoms with the expected course and any earlier improvement.
Mild grittiness, watering or blur may occur during recovery, but progressive pain, redness or visual deterioration should not be dismissed as routine healing.
New flashes, a shower of floaters or an enlarging curtain or shadow needs urgent assessment for a retinal tear or detachment.
Key red flags
A worsening painful red eye with reduced vision after an operation or injection requires immediate contact with the eye service and urgent assessment for infection or another sight-threatening complication.
Investigation priorities
01
Procedure record and symptom timelineFirst step
Establish what recovery should look like and when deterioration began.
Management branches
Urgent symptom triageAct on a concerning change
A postoperative patient develops significant new pain, redness, visual decline or retinal warning symptoms.
Establish the procedure, timing and degree of functional change, asking specifically about flashes, floaters, shadow, nausea and current treatment.
Contact the operating team or emergency eye service immediately and arrange the appropriate same-day assessment with clear handover of the concern.
National guidance is shown before implementation-dependent detail. Typical adult dose examples remain subject to patient factors, contraindications and the live BNF or specialist protocol. Source check completed 7 Sept 2026; clinical approval remains outstanding.