Doctors found 27 contact lenses stuck in the eye of a patient who was waiting for cataract surgery.
The woman, 67, who has not been named, was suffering from discomfort in her eyes which she believed was caused by old age and dry eyes.
A total of 17 of the lenses were stuck together, creating a large mass in the eye.
The woman has apparently worn disposable contact lenses for the last 35 years but had not been attending optometrist appointments.
Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee ophthalmologist who worked on the case at Solihull Hospital near Birmingham, said doctors were surprised by the number of lenses found.
“None of us have ever seen this before. It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together,” Ms Morjaria told Optometry Today.
“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,” she said.
She added that the woman said her eyes felt “more comfortable” now the lenses had been removed but her operation has been postponed as the risk of developing “endophthalmitis”, an inflammation of the interior of the eye, has increased.
“She was quite shocked. When she was seen two weeks after I removed the lenses she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable,” Ms Morjaria added.
