Do I need to stop wearing contact lenses, prior to cataract surgery?
FEB 01, 2024
Answer:
Patients need to be out of contact lenses prior to their preoperative measurements for cataract surgery. The length of this time depends on what contact lenses are worn.
This is needed because contact lenses alter the shape of the cornea, on the outer surface of the eye. When measurements are taken for the intraocular lens (IOL), it is extremely important for the cornea to be in its natural, unaltered state. The surface measurements are inaccurate if not out of the contact lenses, which leads to the wrong IOL being placed during cataract surgery. Hard lenses should be discontinued for a longer time compared to soft contacts as they take longer for the corneal surface to return to normal. If these instructions are not followed prior to the cataract surgery measurements, your postoperative vision outcome can be disappointing.
This question was originally answered on Feb. 21, 2014.