Medical team finds 27 contact lenses in woman’s eye: report

A medical team discovered 17 contact lenses, in an unidentified woman's eye, according to a report in BMJ, a medical journal. They uncovered 10 more on further examination.

''We were all shocked she had not noticed!'' Dr Rupal Morjaria, an ophthalmologist in the UK, and one of the three authors of the report, said in an email.

It was not clear how long the lenses were in the woman's eye, but according to the doctors, she had worn monthly disposable lenses for 35 years. The cataract surgery was postponed due to the risk of infection, but it was later carried out with no long-term complications, Dr Morjaria said.

According to Morjaria and her colleagues, the patient's poor vision and deep-set eyes might have contributed to her not noticing the accumulating mass.

''She said she had felt an uncomfortable and gritty eye, 'like something was inside,' but she didn't think it was anything to worry about,'' Dr Morjaria said, The New York Times reported.

While lenses in the UK can be obtained only following an exam with a specialist, they could be easily bought online Dr Morjaria said. In the case of the patient, the lenses were lodged so high up under the eyelid that it would not have been possible to spot them, she added.

''None of us have ever seen this before. It was such a large mass. All the 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 told 'Optometry Today' publication.

The lenses, which resembled a ''bluish mass'' in the patient's eye, were causing the woman discomfort that she thought was due to dry eye and old age.

''She was quite shocked. When she was seen two weeks after I removed the lenses she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable,'' Morjaria said. ''In this day and age, when it is so easy to purchase contact lenses online, people become lax about having regular check-ups,'' she said, PTI reported.