Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #430

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
UK Surgeon Finds 27 Missing Contact Lenses In Woman’s Eye
by Selina Powell
A “blueish mass” of 17 contact lenses has been discov- ered in the eye of a patient who was scheduled for cataract surgery.
The 67-year-old patient was unaware that the contact lenses were missing, and later told surgeons that she thought her discomfort was due to dry eye and old age.
Specialist trainee ophthalmologist, Rupal Morjaria, told OT that anoth- er 10 individual contact lenses were discovered in the woman’s eye
following further examination at Solihull Hospital.
The operating team, which included an oph- thalmologist with more than 20 years of experi- ence, were startled by the discovery, Ms Morjaria explained.
“None of us have ever seen this before,” she added.
“It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck togeth- er. We were really surprised that the patient didn’t notice it because it would cause quite
a lot of irritation while it was sitting there,” Ms Morjaria elaborated.
The cataract sur- gery was post- poned following the discovery due to an increased risk of endoph- thalmitis.
“Because she had harboured these contact lenses in her eye for an unknown length of time, if we had operated she would have had a lot of bacteria around her con- junctiva,” Ms Morjaria
The patient had been wearing monthly disposable
contact lenses for the past 35 years but did not attend regular optometrist appointments.
Ms Morjaria said the patient did not report any symp- toms linked to the missing lenses in her pre-operative assessment.
“She was quite shocked. When she was seen two weeks after I removed the lens- es she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable. She thought her previ- ous discomfort was just part of old age and dry eye,” Ms Morjaria shared.
The case, which occurred in November last year, is reported in The BMJ.
Ms Morjaria
told OT that the decision was made to publish the case because the clini- cians involved had previously not believed it was possible to retain so many contact lenses without being sympto- matic.
Reporting on the surgery is also about public awareness, Ms Morjaria empha- sised.
“In this day and age, when it is so easy to purchase contact lenses online, people become lax about having regular check ups,” she added.
“Contact lenses are used all the time, but if they are not appropri- ately monitored we see people with serious eye infec- tions that can cause them to lose their sight,” Ms Morjaria stressed.
Association of Optometrists clini- cal and regulatory officer, Henry Leonard,
told OT that the case illustrates the importance of con- tact lens wearers having regular pro- fessional after care.
“Patients do some- times present with a contact lens stuck under their upper eyelid, par- ticularly if they are new to contact lens wear, or have problems with dex- terity, but finding this many lenses stuck in someone’s eye is exceedingly rare,” Mr Leonard shared.
He added: “Most patients would experience signifi- cant discomfort and redness, and be at risk of eye infections.”
The AOP has
a series of resources that pro- vide practical advice for contact lens wearers, including a 60 sec- ond top tips video.
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