This is necessary because it is the only way to remove the cancer completely. It is not possible to remove the cancer from within the eye without removing the entire eye. This can be done for some other eye cancers, but is dangerous and may even contribute to the spread of the cancer for retinoblastoma patients. A parent may accompany the child to the operating room on the day of surgery and may be present until the child is anesthetized. The anesthesiologist will place a mask over the child's mouth and nose.
Children usually fall asleep within a minute or two after breathing the anesthesia gases.
In the operation, the entire eye is removed along with a long piece of optic nerve as one specimen, and is sent to a pathologist for examination under a micrscope. The eyebrow, lids, and muscles of the eye are all left in place. Blinking, tearing, and movement of the brow are not affected from this surgery. The operation takes less than an hour and is not painful. Children go home the same day and are usually examined in the office on the following day when post-operative instructions and care are explained.