Is Laser Eye Surgery Safer Than Wearing Contact Lenses?

After comparing data from several recent studies, an Oregon ophthalmology professor has concluded that laser eye surgery may be safer than wearing contact lenses long-term.

The chance of vision loss appears more likely with long-term contact lens wear than with laser eye surgery, said William Mathers, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Ore.

"Several times a year, I have patients who lose eyes from complications because they've been wearing contacts and they've gotten an infection. By this, I mean their eyes have to be physically removed from their bodies," Mathers said in a news release.

"It's not that contacts aren't good. They're better than they've ever been. But one cannot assume contacts are safer."

In contrast, Mathers said the safety record of 18,000 laser eye surgery procedures conducted at Portland's Casey Vision Correction Center demonstrates that no patient has ever lost vision equivalent to two lines on an eye chart. Mathers also cited results from more than 32,000 U.S. military personnel undergoing laser eye surgery in which one in 1,250 lost one line of vision. There were no reports of loss of two lines or more of vision.

Mathers said that between 20 million and 25 million U.S. citizens wear contact lenses. About one million people in the United States undergo laser eye surgery annually.