[Is it still Necessary to Discontinue Using Daily Wear Soft Contact Lenses for a Period before LASIK?]

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to verify whether soft contact lenses (SCL) can have a clinically significant impact on refraction before LASIK.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 113 eyes for which the refraction was measured initially and after discontinuing soft contact lenses for at least 7 days. Both spherical and cylindrical measurements were performed. In addition, the difference between postoperative refraction and the target refraction for these eyes was calculated for both spherical and cylindrical refraction.

Results: In 8 % (18 %) of the eyes, the spherical or cylindrical refraction changed by 0.5 dioptre or more after a week of not wearing soft contact lenses. Total spherical refraction changed by an average of 0.15 dioptre (p = 0.58) and cylindrical refraction by 0.18 dioptre (p = 0.006). After LASIK, the difference between postoperative and target refraction was significantly different for both spherical refraction (0.3 dioptre) and for cylindrical refraction (0.21 dioptre).

Discussion: The differences in the measurements during this study suggest that a modern soft contact lenses should still be discontinued before LASIK. The optimal duration of the discontinuation remains to be determined.