Contact Lenses vs Laser Eye Surgery: 10-Year Cost and Safety

• Your prescription is still changing. The FDA says you are probably not a good candidate for refractive surgery if you needed a change in your glasses or contact-lens prescription in the past year.
• You only need vision correction occasionally. If you wear lenses a few days a month, the running cost is low and surgery may never pay for itself.
• You are not suitable for laser. Thin corneas, keratoconus and severe dry eye are among the reasons the AAO lists for not having LASIK.
• You are under 18, or you take part in contact sports. The FDA notes that no lasers are approved for LASIK under 18, and that boxing, wrestling, martial arts and similar activities are a reason for caution.
• You prefer a reversible option. You want to wait for more long-term evidence, or simply do not want an operation.

• You wear lenses or glasses every day and your yearly lens spend is high enough that surgery pays for itself within a few years.
• Your prescription is stable and your eyes are healthy. The AAO describes good candidates as at least 18 (preferably over 21), with a stable prescription, enough corneal thickness and generally good eye health.
• Lenses are uncomfortable or inconvenient. Dry, red or irritated eyes at the end of the day, or the routine of cleaning and replacing lenses, are common reasons people ask about laser.
• You want freedom from lens-care risks. You swim, travel or work in dusty or dry environments, and the water and hygiene rules are hard to follow.

Some patients fall between the two: a prescription at the edge of what laser can treat, thin corneas that might suit a surface treatment (PRK) rather than LASIK, or signs of keratoconus that rule laser out altogether. In those cases the conversation with the surgeon matters as much as the operation. Our surgeons review your prescription and scans first and tell you if laser is not right for you.

Divide the laser price by your yearly lens spend. These are worked examples, not averages: the three yearly spends are scenarios to show how the sum works.

Read the table like this: at a yearly spend of $1,000, a $2,000 LASIK treatment pays for itself in two years, while a $6,000 treatment takes six. Over a full decade, lenses at that spend would cost $10,000.

• Travel. If you have laser abroad, add flights, hotel and transfers to the treatment price. A trip to Istanbul is a fixed cost, so the maths still favours laser for daily wearers, but include it honestly.
• Retreatment. Vision can be under- or over-corrected, and the AAO notes that this can often be improved with glasses, lenses or further laser. Ask any provider in writing whether a touch-up is included and for how long.
• Reading glasses. Laser does not treat presbyopia, so you may still need reading glasses later, just as lens wearers may need a different lens type.
• Time. Lens wearers also spend daily time on cleaning, case care and refills; surgery has recovery days and follow-up checks.

• Infection and corneal ulcers. The FDA states that wearing contact lenses puts you at risk of serious conditions including eye infections and corneal ulcers, which in rare cases can cause blindness. The CDC calls lenses medical devices and says that not wearing, cleaning and storing them as directed raises the risk of microbial keratitis.
• How common are the severe cases? In a Norwegian study covering 2018–2020 (Sund et al., Acta Ophthalmologica, 2025), the yearly incidence of severe, hospital-treated contact-lens keratitis was 2.52 per 10,000 users of extended-wear lenses used overnight and 0.52 per 10,000 users of daily disposable lenses. Those figures are for severe cases only; milder infections and irritations are more common. Counted over ten years, 0.52 per 10,000 a year is roughly 5 severe cases per 10,000 daily-disposable wearers (simple arithmetic on the study's yearly rate).
• Habits matter. The CDC advises avoiding sleeping in lenses unless directed by your eye care provider, removing lenses before swimming or showering, and replacing your case at least every three months. The FDA adds that lenses should not be exposed to any water and that lens solution should never be reused.
• When worn properly, lenses are safe for most people. The American Optometric Association states that lenses prescribed by a licensed optometrist are worn safely and comfortably by millions of people worldwide.

• Side effects. The AAO lists dry eyes and changing vision during the day, which usually settle within about a month, plus glare, halos and reduced night vision, which can be temporary or permanent.
• More serious risks. The FDA lists loss of lines of vision on the eye chart that cannot be corrected, glare, halos or double vision that can seriously affect night-time vision, under- or over-treatment, and severe dry eye that may be permanent. It also notes that the long-term safety and effectiveness of LASIK is not known.
• What patients report. In the FDA-led PROWL studies (Eydelman et al., JAMA Ophthalmology, 2017), 43% of military and 46% of civilian participants reported new visual symptoms at three months, while dissatisfaction was low: 1–4% with their vision and 1–2% with the surgery.
• Satisfaction. A systematic review of 19 studies covering 2,198 patients found an overall satisfaction rate of 95.4% after primary LASIK (Solomon et al., Ophthalmology, 2009).
• Results. About 9 in 10 people who have LASIK end up with vision between 20/20 and 20/40 without glasses or contact lenses (AAO, January 2026).

For a healthy patient who follows the rules, both are generally safe. Lenses spread a small risk over every year of wear and depend on your daily habits; laser concentrates its risks around one operation and recovery. That is why careful candidate selection matters more than the technology: the FDA's list of reasons to avoid refractive surgery, including an unstable prescription, wound-healing conditions and dry-eye disease, is the starting point for any surgeon.