First Author: S.Taneri GERMANY
Co Author(s): S. Oehler S. MacRae
Purpose:
To examine the influence of a therapeutic soft contact lens (TSCL) after alcohol-assisted photorefractive keratectomie (PRK) for the correction of low to moderate ametropia on visual recovery, epithelial closure, pain, and haze formation.
Setting:
: Zentrum für Refraktive Chirurgie, Augenabteilung am St. Franziskus Hospital Münster, Germany
Methods:
Prospective, randomized, single center, contra-lateral, single-masked study. Same surgeon treated 15 patients with bilateral PRK using a Vidaurri Fluid Retention Ring (Katena, Denville, NY, USA) with 8.7mm outer diameter to apply ethanol 18% for 30 seconds. Mitomycin-C was used in 10 eyes of 5 patients.
Each patient received a TSCL (PureVision, Bausch&Lomb) with the same base curve of 8.6 mm and 0.0 diopter optical power in a randomized fashion in one eye only. Without knowing, which eye had a contact lens, patients could opt to have both eyes to be treated in the same way, i.e. to remove the contact lens or to place another one in the second eye, at any visit.
Results:
Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) improved postoperatively from day 1 to 3 months from 0.55 to 1.19 with TSCL and from 0.17 to 1.06 without TSCL, respectively.
UDVA was statistically significant better on day 1 and 2 with TSCL, respectively.
Epithelial defect in the first postop days was on average smaller with TSCL. Epithelium closed at day 4 in all eyes except one without TSCL.
Pain perception was significantly higher without TSCL on day 1 and 2. Haze levels after 3 months were significantly lower with TSCL (with 0.11/ without 0.45, respectively). One eye without TSCL had haze grade 2 (Fantes).
Conclusions:
In our study a TSCL had statistically significant and clinically meaningful beneficial effects after surface ablation in the first days in terms of visual recovery and pain perception, and after 3 months in haze formation. Epithelial healing was slightly quicker with the use of TSCLs (not statistically, but clinically significant). These findings may be generalized to epithelial defects of other origin.
Financial Disclosure:
None
