Has anyone taken their parent to a hospital from long-term care to have cataract surgery? My mother will likely need to be restrained. Thoughts?

merlerose: Imho, speak to the head of the facility regarding this issue.

Yes, I have taken my mother from ALF to hospital for cataract surgery. The staff at AL was excellent. They took care of my mom during the eye drop phase and now she sees the photographs of her grandchildren across the room. The surgeon was very helpful to me by making sure all the necessary paperwork was filled out for the AL staff. The staff at the hospital was ready for an elderly lady with many health issues. She was sedated. The hard part was getting her there because she doesn't move much. She still wears reading glasses. It was worth having the surgery. Her life is better. The sad part is that my mother suffered for years with poor vision due to cataracts because she rarely went to get an eye exam.

First, what is Mom's life expectancy? If she has conditions that are likely to limit her to a few years (3 or less) and she still sees enough to function you can skip surgery. Using a dilating eye drop may allow her to see around the cataracts (one drop of atropine 3x/week). This will also let you see how compliant she will be with the eyedrops. If she fights it she will need to be sedated with oral medication to administer eyedrops. Please do not consider cataract surgery without proper post-op care. There are alternative to eye drops (medication implants) and this can be discussed with her ophthalmologist.