An ophthalmologist who filmed herself removing 23 contact lenses from a patient who slept with them in has watched her video go viral with more than one million views.
Dr Katarina Kurteeva, of California Eye Associates in the US, said she had never encountered such a scenario – only ever reading about it in scientific literature – after the patient came to her complaining of foreign body sensation in her eye for the past week.
Upon examination, the ophthalmologist found it had been going on for much longer and removed 23 daily contact lenses, all but one from the right upper eye lid, and the remainder from her left.
The case was filmed in her clinic and posted on Instagram before being shared widely across social media. It was even picked up by Saturday Night Live and she was interviewed on live TV by the US Fox network.
“This patient was distressed about a family event and disregarded her eyecare,” Kurteeva said on Instagram.
“I have carefully separated all the contact lenses and counted total of 23. I had to use very fine surgical instrument a jeweller forceps to separate contact lenses. They were essentially glued together after sitting under the eyelid for a month … she was so happy to be relieved of foreign body sensation.”
With the video viewed more than one million times, Kurteeva said she was glad to have an opportunity to educate the public about contact lens hygiene wear, particularly regarding sleeping in contact lenses.
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