Contact lenses or laser surgery?

Until 2006, experts were certain that wearing contact lenses permanently was more conducive to maintaining vision in the medium and long term than laser surgery. Then Professor Mathers from Oregon Health & Science University presented a study that suddenly suggested the opposite: contact lenses carry a significantly higher risk of their wearers losing more vision than laser eye surgery. A direct comparison is not possible because the damage caused by lenses usually only occurs years later, whereas visual impairment after surgery occurs almost immediately. However, the risks can be offset against each other.

Infections as a major risk

The biggest risk for lens wearers is that incorrect wearing of visual aids, for example by not removing them overnight or through a lack of hygiene, can lead to inflammation in the eye. If the cornea is infected with bacteria (bacterial keratitis), vision can be directly impaired. In the worst case, there is even a risk of losing the eye. If you wear contact lenses, there is a 1:100 risk of such an infection occurring in the course of your life. Although contact lenses have of course also evolved, this risk has not diminished in recent years.

Better results thanks to the surgery

On the other hand, those who undergo laser surgery run a much smaller risk of seeing only ten percent less well afterwards than before. Professor Mathers obtained this result by examining the data of 50,000 patients who underwent laser surgery. The risk of being able to see only ten percent worse after the operation is only 1:1,025. And even if the values are difficult to compare: laser surgery is certainly no more dangerous than wearing contact lenses for the rest of one’s life, and the operation probably even carries significantly lower risks.