For _squint operations_ it is desirable to have a light fixed to the ceiling, directly over the head of the operating table, for testing the position of the eyes either by the reflection of the light from the surface of the cornea or by the Maddox rod test. _The operating table_ should be provided with a means of adjusting its height and the position of the head-piece, so that the patient’s head can be brought to about the level of the operator’s elbows when the latter is standing upright with his arms at his side. _After operation_ the patient should be warned to lie still and not to strain in any way; he should be carried to bed and should lie on his back if possible. If a patient cannot sleep on his back it is better that he should lie on the sound side than be without rest. A length of bandage should be fastened round the wrist of the hand on the same side as the eye which has been operated upon, and should be attached to the bed so as to prevent the hand being put up to the eye during sleep. After major operations, such as those for cataract and glaucoma, the patient is confined to bed for ten days, during the first four of which the head should not be raised from the pillow, the bowels being evacuated while the patient is in the supine position; but old patients with a tendency to bronchitis or hypostatic pneumonia must be propped up in bed and allowed to get up earlier: in these patients it is better to perform the operation in the summer if possible. In old people and patients with a tendency to melancholia the mental condition must be carefully watched, as frequently they cannot stand the confinement to bed and darkness. LOCAL PREPARATION OF THE PATIENT When operating upon the eye, a surgeon has to face the great difficulty that he is operating in an area which is not always aseptic, since it is practically impossible to render the conjunctival sac sterile. At the same time, the conjunctiva has been shown to be sterile in health in 25% of cases, pyogenic organisms (principally the staphylococcus albus) being found only in 15%; but, although these are usually not of a very virulent character, they are by far the most frequent cause of sepsis; ten cases of suppuration after operation which the author has examined were all due to this organism. After the methods of purification given below, this percentage is considerably reduced, so that, if due precautions are taken, the risk of sepsis is comparatively small. On the other hand, if conjunctivitis or lachrymal obstruction be present, the risks are enormously increased, especially in the latter condition owing to the frequent presence of the pneumococcus in the discharge, unless special precautions are taken. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that every case should be examined for lachrymal obstruction before operation. Care should be taken also to see that there is no purulent discharge from the nose or any septic sores about the face.