Corneal Neovascularization and Lasik

Corneal Neovascularization is the growth of blood vessels into the cornea. This causes slight lengthening of inflammation duration and healing time and some pain during surgery because of greater bleeding. Typically, the cornea is avascular because it must be transparent to function normally, and its cells absorb oxygen from the tear film. Thus, corneal neovascularization may result because of low-oxygen-permeable contact lenses that may reduce the cornea's oxygen absorption. Although some contact lenses are made of materials with greater oxygen permeability that help reduce the risk of corneal neovascularization, patients considering LASIK are warned to avoid over-wearing their contact lenses. Usually, it is recommended that they discontinue wearing contact lenses days or weeks before the Lasik eye surgery. Contact lenses can alter the refractive error; hence they must be stopped to ensure that the corneal curve is stable before surgery.

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