2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
13 Refractive Surgery
Chapter 11: Considerations After Refractive Surgery
Contact Lens Use After Refractive Surgery
Contact Lenses After Surface Ablation
Immediately after surface ablation, a soft contact lens is placed on the cornea as a bandage to help promote epithelialization and reduce discomfort. The lens is worn until the corneal epithelium has healed. Healing time depends on the size of the epithelial defect but in general takes between 4 and 7 days. A tight-fitting lens should be removed if there is evidence of corneal hypoxia (eg, corneal edema, folds in the Descemet membrane, or iritis).
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 13 - Refractive Surgery. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.