Contact Lenses
Your contact lenses do not need to be removed prior to your free assessment. You should bring any spectacles that you have with you. We request that you cease soft disposable or daily-wear contact lens wear for 2 weeks prior to LASIK as this gives the cornea the best chance to be as normal and healthy as possible before the treatment.Soft toric (astigmatism correcting) contact lenses have some capacity to change the shape of your cornea. You should not wear soft toric contact lenses for 3 weeks prior to LASIK - this allows adequate time for the cornea to return to its natural state.
Hard (PMMA) contact lenses including the gas-permeable (RGP) type need to be removed about 6-8 weeks before LASIK. If you live in the Christchurch area we will do a series of examinations until your spectacle prescription (refraction) is stable. For most of this stabilisation period you can wear soft disposable contact lenses. If you live outside the Christchurch area and wear hard contact lenses we can liase with your optometrist about doing a series of examinations until your spectacle prescription is stable.