The effect of previous soft contact lens wear on corneal refractive surgery outcomes

To examine the influence of previous soft contact lens (SCL) wear on corneal refractive surgery (CRS) outcomes when SCL wear is ceased for two weeks versus twenty-four hours, and also when compared to no wear, prior to CRS.

A retrospective examination of CRS patient records was carried out for two groups of patients- who ceased SCL wear for two weeks (n=45) and for twenty-four hours (n=49) prior to CRS and compared to a non-contact lens (NCL) control group (n=45 and n=49, respectively). CRS outcomes (efficacy, predictability, visual acuity and refractive error) were compared pre-operatively and one and six months post-operatively.

One month post-operative results found unaided distance visual acuity (UDVA) was significantly better for LASEK/PRK patients who had ceased SCL wear for two weeks prior to CRS (-0.05±0.09), compared with the NCL group (0.02±0.09; p=0.04). Furthermore, six month post-operative results found UDVA was significantly better for both LASIK and LASEK/PRK patients who had ceased SCL wear for two weeks prior to CRS, and for LASEK/PRK patients who had ceased SCL wear for twenty-four hours prior to CRS compared with the NCL group.

Given the current setup and methods followed, it was concluded that previous SCL wear had no negative impact on visual outcomes following CRS compared with a NCL control group, regardless of previous SCL cessation time prior to CRS.