Doctors Find 27 Contact Lenses Stuck in 67-Year-Old Woman's Eye
A 67-year-old British woman came in the Solihull Hospital in England for a cataract consultation when doctors found a shocking discovery. Nearly 30 contact lenses were found in two congealed masses on the woman's eye, sparking curiosity at what must have been a very uncomfortable ordeal for her.
A routine eye procedure took a turn for the bizarre as an eye surgery team found a "blueish mass" of what turned out to be 17 contact lenses on the patient's eye.
The team, later on, found another similar clump of 10 contact lenses after more examination, as a member shared with Optometry Today.
Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee ophthalmologist for the Solihull Hospital in England, was very surprised at what they discovered. "None of us have ever seen this before," she said.
"It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together. 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," Morjaria explained.
The case was outstanding enough that the Solihull Hospital team took in on themselves to publish their findings in the British Medical Journal, which made their report available on July 5.
The elderly patient herself was surprised at what was found in her eye. She went in complaining of discomfort which she attributed to dry eye and her age.
Two weeks after the masses of contact lenses were removed, the patient reported that "her eyes felt a lot more comfortable," as shared by Morjaria.
Her cataract surgery has since been postponed as the patient is being assessed for the risk of eye infection. The 67-year-old has been wearing disposable contact lenses every month for the past 35 years, but she has missed out on her regular optometrist consultations.
"Contact lenses are used all the time, but if they are not appropriately monitored we see people with serious eye infections that can cause them to lose their sight," Morjaria stated.