Three Ways Contact Lenses Affect Your LASIK Preparations

If you're tired of needing vision correction, you may be thinking about investing in LASIK eye surgery. While this may be a great investment for you, it is important that you understand how your contact lenses can affect the procedure. Before you schedule your consultation, here are a few things that you should know.

Wearing Contacts Affects The Measurements Your Surgeon Has To Take

When you wear contact lenses, they actually affect the thickness and basic shape of your cornea. Since the surgeon will need to take some measurements of your cornea to determine how to proceed with your surgery, that means skipping the contacts for a few weeks before your initial assessment. The length of time will vary based on how long you've worn contact lenses, so ask your surgeon in advance about when to take them out. It also means that you'll need to be lens-free for the same period of time before your surgery to ensure that your surgery is as successful as possible. If your cornea isn't allowed the time to return to its proper shape before either the evaluation or the surgery, your results may be less than ideal.

The Kind Of Contact Lens You Wear Is An Important Consideration

Although most people wear the soft disposable contact lenses, you may have been prescribed a rigid lens for your vision correction. If so, that can have a more significant effect on your cornea measurements. You'll need to have measurements taken several times until the eye doctor receives consistent measurements over several visits because of the severity of the shape fluctuation with these lenses.

Contact Lens Dryness Can Be Causes For Concern

If you are one of those contact lens wearers who struggles with persistent dryness when wearing lenses, mention it to your LASIK surgeon during your initial evaluation. This can affect your eligibility for the surgery. Since LASIK can lead to some instances of dry eye during recovery, it's important that this is considered during the evaluation in case it could intensify those symptoms.

Many people find that LASIK surgery sets them free from the tether of corrective lenses. If you've been hoping to make that leap but wear contacts, it's in your best interest to understand how those lenses can affect things. With the information here and the support of a LASIK surgeon like those at Master Eye Associates, you'll be able to determine if the procedure is right for you and how to get the most from it.


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