I wore my contacts up until the night before my PRK consultation. How much will it affect my eye measurements for surgery?

Contact lenses have a reshaping effect on your cornea, especially if you wear them longer than 8 hours a day. The instruments used to take your corneal maps and measurements are very sensitive. Therefore, contact lens use will affect your measurements for surgery. However, at our office, we retake scans after the candidate has been out of their contacts for a sufficient time. Every office runs a little differently, so I would call the center to see what they would like you to do. 

By being out of the contact lenses, it allows the eye to be in its natural state and therefore get better measurements for the day of surgery.  At our clinic, we will retest patients if they weren't out of their contacts for the minimal time prior to their initial exam.  You should call the clinic and ask them if they are planning on retesting you prior to surgery and get that scheduled.  Also make sure that you are out of your contacts prior to that appointment.  

You results simply won't be as good. Wearing the contact affects the measurements.Basing the surgery on inaccurate measurements is a waste of a great opportunity to see your best.