I forgot to mention that in addition to the pilocarpine drops to constrict the pupil, another drop was given to reduce inflammation and also numbing drops are given. A special lens is placed on the eye that has gel in it -- I worried about my blinking but with this lens in place, if you do blink, it just hits the lens.

There is a photo of this lens in this article: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1844179-overview

Also, if you would like to see someone getting an iridotomy, here is a video clip: http://www.rootatlas.com/wordpress/video/645/how-to-perform-a-laser-iridotomy-video/

Also, I didn't mention that following the procedure, I had a fair amount of pain. I took Tylenol (but not ibuprofen or aspirin) before the procedure which was recommended. The pilocarpine is known to give some folks a brow ache. Indeed, it did. My whole eye ached (but I have pretty sensitive eyes, I think -- sometimes they hurt for a few days after getting poked at at the ophthalmologist's office). I needed more Extra Strength Tylenol 3 hours after the procedure and then was concerned when I needed again at just 2 hours. I called the doc on-call and she assured me that since the pain did respond somewhat to Tylenol that it was not pain due to my IOP rising. She advised switching to Advil. I was also concerned because of the haziness of my vision. She said both the pain and the haziness were due to inflammation and to increase the prednisolone drops to get as much on board that night to reduce inflammation.

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