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RGP lens material shows potential for rehabilitation of keratoconic, irregular corneas
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Tisilfocon A polymer contact lens material can maintain acceptable corneal health and visual acuity for rehabilitation of patients with highly irregular or diseased corneas, a retrospective study found. The majority of failures were due to design and discomfort unrelated to the lens material.
Loretta B. Szczotka-Flynn, OD, MS, and Shamil Patel, MD, evaluated medical records — including corneal physiology, comfort and visual acuity data — obtained for 64 eyes of 40 patients with corneal pathologies who were wearing Menicon Z (tisilfocon A) rigid gas permeable lenses.
The lenses were fit to 33 eyes of 20 patients with keratoconus and 31 eyes of 23 patients who had irregular corneas. Of the 31 eyes with irregular corneas, 28 eyes had previously undergone corneal surgery, one eye had an ocular cicatricial pemphigoid and two eyes of one patient had chronic staphylococcal blepharo-keratoconjunctivitis.
Of the 33 eyes in the keratoconus group, 27 eyes (82%) were deemed treatment successes after an average of 2.5 years of tisilfocon A lens material wear.
Four keratoconic eyes (12%) failed due to inadequate performance of the tisilfocon A material, the authors noted.
Of the 31 eyes in the irregular cornea group, 23 eyes (74%) were deemed treatment successes after an average of 2.79 years of tisilfocon A lens material wear.
One eye (3%) failed due to the inadequate performance of the tisilfocon A lens material, according to the study, published in the September issue of Eye & Contact Lens.