Purpose: The aim here was to study the safety and efficacy of fitting a rigid gas-permeable contact lens (RGP CL) for visual rehabilitation in patients with ocular trauma.
Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 17 aphakic eyes of patients (16 men and one woman) after surgery for ocular trauma. RGP CLs (including nine brown-tinted lenses) were fitted unilaterally for visual rehabilitation in these patients. The uncorrected vision, spectacle visual acuity and contact lens (CL) visual acuity were recorded.
Results: Seventeen patients were selected on the basis that they had undergone surgery following ocular trauma. All eyes fitted were aphakic (n = 17) and nine eyes were fitted with brown-tinted RGP lenses to compensate for traumatic aniridia. All eyes were fitted with RGP CL. A visual acuity of 6/20 or better was seen in seven eyes (41.2 per cent) with spectacle correction and in 15 eyes (88.2 per cent) with CL correction. A visual acuity of 6/12 or better was seen in four eyes (23.5 per cent) and 10 eyes (58.8 per cent), respectively.
Conclusions: A RGP CL is one of the methods available for treating refractive abnormalities in traumatic unilateral aphakia. The procedure is effective, safe and tolerable. RGP CLs can correct the vision of patients with irregular corneal astigmatism. The brown-tinted RGP CL can improve the symptoms of photophobia and the cosmetic appearance of brown eyes.
© 2012 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Optometry © 2012 Optometrists Association Australia.