Story highlights Preparation for cataract surgery revealed a mucus-covered ball of contacts

The woman said she thought old age and dry eye were to blame for discomfort

(CNN) A 67-year-old woman scheduled for routine cataract surgery in November thought it was just dry eye and old age causing her discomfort, she told her surgeons.

But what doctors at Solihull Hospital in the UK found to be the real cause of her discomfort was much more concerning: 27 contact lenses, stuck in the woman's right eye in a "blue mass."

Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee in ophthalmology and author of the paper, said the woman hadn't complained about any visual trouble before the operation.

Richard Crombie, a consultant anesthetist at the hospital, was beginning to numb her eye for surgery when he found the first cluster of contacts.

Read More