Trick of the Trade: Fluorescein for lost contact lens

A patient’s contact lens broke when she was trying to take it off. She feels the pieces are still inside her eye, but she was unable to fish them out. When you look through the slit lamp, you are unable to to see whether there are contact lens pieces inside since they are clear.

Trick of the Trade

Use fluorescein dye to highlight contact lens

Fluorescein dye is readily absorbed into the gel matrix of the contact lens. After instilling fluorescein dye topically, the contact lens will stain and become much more apparent under the blue light.

And voila! Pieces of contact lens seen and retrieved.

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