GEM Clinic offers both Cataract and Glaucoma surgery.

Date of Surgery
We will endeavor to give you at least one month's notice of your surgical date and time. Please be advised that due to an extensive surgical wait list and limited OR time, we are unable to provide alternative times and dates barring medical emergencies or unforeseen circumstances. Please let us know ahead of time if you have any strong preferences against certain time periods (eg. due to planned trips or other surgeries).
If you have any questions or concerns about your upcoming surgery, please call GEM Clinic and ask to speak to surgical slating or contact them at slating@gemclinic.ca.
Location of Surgery
Arrive 1.5 hours before your surgery, unless otherwise instructed.
Cancellations and rescheduled surgeries:
When you eat or drink on the day of surgery, your surgery may be canceled or postponed. Please follow the preparation instructions carefully.
Occasionally, due to eye emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances, there can be sudden changes to the schedule. This could require us to reschedule your surgery date or time, even on the day of surgery.
If your surgery has to be rescheduled for whatever reason, we apologize for the inconvenience and will endeavor to give you a close alternate date.
If you are unable to keep your scheduled date for surgery, please give us a minimum 1 week notice so that we have time to book a replacement.
Prior to your surgery date:
- Fill out and submit the assessment questionnaire to GEM Clinic. If this questionnaire is not received at least 3 weeks prior to your procedure it may result in the cancellation of your surgery.
- Book a pre-operative history and physical examination with your physician (if required). The surgical history and physical examination form must be completed by your family physician. If this form is not received at least 3 weeks prior to your procedure it may result in the cancellation of your surgery.
- Consent Form: You will need to sign a consent form granting permission to do the surgery.
- Consider intraocular lens options: If you are having cataract surgery, you will routinely receive a soft, foldable, single distance artificial lens which is implanted at the time of the surgery. The cost of these lenses is covered by Manitoba Health. If you are a candidate and opt for a special lens that corrects for astigmatism (Toric), for different distances (Multifocal or Extended Depth of Focus - EDOF) or both (Multifocal Toric or EDOF Toric), these are an extra cost to you and require extra pre-operative testing. We do not offer these options for patients having combined cataract and glaucoma surgery. If you have not received any information on these options and are interested, please let us know. Watch video - The IOL that filts your daily life
- Home Care: If you have Home Care please notify our office. We will fax post-operative orders to them ahead of time. If you require Home Care assistance because you are physically/mentally unable to administer your own drops and do not have family members/friends to assist you, please let us know at least 2 weeks prior to surgery. Failure to do so may prevent us from providing you with the necessary help you require.
- Work/Disability/Insurance forms: If you require work, disability or insurance forms to be completed, you must provide these forms at least 2 weeks prior to your surgery date. Failure to do so will result in delays in completing your necessary forms. Please be advised that our office charges $50 per form and you will be responsible for any charges incurred unless we are otherwise notified that a third party has arranged to cover these costs.
- Time off work: For cataract surgery, plan to take 1-2 weeks off work. For combined cataract and glaucoma surgery or any type of glaucoma surgery, plan to take 4-6 weeks off work.
- Vacations: Do not plan vacations without consulting our office in case this interferes with adequate time for post-operative care. For cataract surgery, we advise you not to travel for at least one month. For combined cataract and glaucoma surgery or any glaucoma surgery, we advise you not to travel for at least 2-3 months.
- Smoking: Do not smoke 3-4 days prior to the operation and 1 week afterwards as smoking delays and impairs the healing process.
- Stopping blood thinners: If you are having cataract surgery alone, you do not need to stop your blood thinners. If you are having combined cataract and glaucoma surgery, or any glaucoma surgery, you must stop your blood thinners in consultation with your family doctor or specialist (1 week for aspirin or Plavix; 3 days for Coumadin). You can restart them 3 days after surgery (unless otherwise stated).