Can I wear my contact lenses before my consultation?
In order for us to accurately measure your eyes, it is important that contact lenses are removed before your appointment: 2 weeks for rigid gas permeable lenses and 1 week for soft lenses.
Why do I need to remove my lenses?
Contact lenses can alter the shape of the surface of your eye. This is more likely with hard or rigid gas permeable lenses, but can also occur with soft contact lenses. Any change in the shape of your cornea may alter your prescription. Allowing sufficient time for the cornea to return to its natural shape allows us to measure your ‘true’ prescription.
So how long do I need to keep my lenses out for?
We ask you that you keep your lenses out prior to your initial consultation. If you wear soft lenses, it means no lenses for 1 week. For rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses it’s 2 weeks. Hard (PMMA) lenses need to be removed for 4 weeks.
When it comes to your surgery date, we ask that you leave out your soft lenses that day and the day before. For RGP or hard lenses 1 week without lenses leading up to the day of your surgery is required.
I hate wearing glasses? Can’t I take my lenses out on the day of the consultation?
We want you to get the best result from laser eye surgery. And we’re sure you do too. It may be inconvenient, but the bottom line is that it’s your eyes and your vision. You’ve likely thought long and hard about having laser treatment, so please don’t be tempted to compromise on this important step.