Medical professionals are advising caution to contact lens wearers following an unexpected and somewhat alarming discovery.
A 33-year-old woman in China, who appeared to be in good health, sought medical advice for plastic surgery.
Unbeknownst to her, she had five contact lenses lodged behind her eye.
The woman was seeking surgery to address facial asymmetry caused by an unrelated medical condition and had not noticed any other problems.
She intended to enhance the symmetry of her eyes without experiencing any other issues.
Initially, the doctors did not detect any problems and recommended a fat injection under sedation for the left eye.
It was only upon closer examination that they noticed an anomaly. Yes, indeed.
During the fat injection procedure, ‘several transparent contact lenses migrated from the upper fornix’, as noted in a medical report in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The occurrence was described by doctors as very ‘rare,’ with a caution that hemifacial atrophy might increase the risk of contact lens complications.
The report stated: “Following the double eversion of the left upper eyelid, a total of five soft contact lenses were discovered.
“After the operation, it was confirmed that the patient had been wearing contact lenses for many years. She recollected instances of losing her left contact lens several times many years prior. Interestingly, she had not experienced any ocular symptoms before this surgical intervention.”
The report also highlighted that individuals with the condition face a heightened risk of lenses becoming dislodged and getting trapped between the eye and eyelid.
Surprisingly, this isn’t an isolated incident…
US physician Dr. Kurteeva shared on social media a case involving a patient who required the removal of more than 20 contact lenses from her eye.
The patient reported feeling something in her eye, which led the ophthalmologist to investigate the source of discomfort.
Upon inspection, a total of 23 individual contact lenses were discovered, and the extraction process was as unpleasant as it sounds.
The video carried the warning “Don’t sleep in your contact lenses” and informed viewers that the patient habitually forgot to take out her lenses before sleeping and inserted new ones each morning. Ouch.