After LASIK / laser eye surgery, can I still wear contact lenses?

LASIK and other laser refractive surgeries reshape the cornea, leaving a topography that's flatter centrally and steeper peripherally — the opposite of a healthy cornea. Standard contact lens fits don't work well on this geometry.

Why someone might still want lenses post-LASIK:

• Residual prescription: surgery doesn't always achieve perfect zero. A small SPH or CYL may need correction.
• Presbyopia later in life: LASIK doesn't prevent age-related near-vision loss in your 40s. Multifocal contacts may help.
• Regression: a small fraction of LASIK patients lose some correction over years.

Lens choices on a post-LASIK cornea:

• Specialty rigid gas-permeable (RGP) — often the best fit.
• Hybrid lenses (rigid centre, soft skirt).
• Scleral lenses (large RGP that vaults over the cornea entirely).
• Standard soft lenses occasionally work but fit is unpredictable.

See an optician who specifically does post-surgical fitting. A standard high-street fitter may not have the equipment.

Note: don't wear contact lenses for 2–4 weeks before a planned LASIK consultation — they distort the cornea and skew the measurements.