Scleral Buckle & Contacts

[chey1137]

Hi! Im 21 and had retinal detachment surgery (scleral buckle) a little over 5 weeks ago, and my doctor said I could start wearing contacts last week. I was nervous so I waited until yesterday, and it felt fine so I wore them again today for a longer period of time. When I went to take them out I noticed my bad eye had gotten red again everywhere that my contact wasn’t, and I don’t know if that’s normal or not. My eye feels a little sore and I’m not sure if I should keep wearing them or call my doctor. I’m trying to withhold from calling him as he intimidates me a bit, but also he’s said my eye looks really good since surgery. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it all but my surgeon also thinks I have glaucoma but I can’t see a specialist until next month. Thanks in advance!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This is not normal. And a scleral buckle often makes contact lens not fit the same or not be as well tolerated. You need to leave the contacts out, notify your retina surgeon and also the Eye MD or optometrist that fit your contact lens. Do not continue to wear the contacts if they are making your eye red, or irritated.