IOP-increased

Will be seeing an ophthamologist soon r/t eye exam revealing IOP on two different occasions. Question: Could having worn hard contacts for 15 years followed by retinal keratotomy 17 years ago contributed to a thickened cornea thereby giving possible false readings of IOP?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

The contact lens probably not. A cornea that had radial keratotomy (RK) definitely. The scars of RK alter the corneal properties that are used for both Goldman Applanation Tonometry and tono-pens. Usually it raises the IOP.

I would suggest you have a visual field, optic nerve photographs, gonioscopy and most important Optic Nerve OCT.  All should be done by an Eye MD physician ophthalmologist.

JCH III MD