New options may offer better comfort and reduced risk

[caption id="attachment_16531" align="alignleft" width="1024"] Kathryn A Colby[/caption] RIGID gas-permeable (RGP) designs remain the most popular contact lenses for keratoconus patients, though newer designs may offer better comfort and reduced complication risk, Kathryn A Colby MD, PhD, told a joint session of EuCornea and The Cornea Society. She recommended collaborating with contact lens experts, educating patients that fitting takes time and keeping up with new technologies to better meet individual patient needs. Current RGP fitting uses a “three-point” approach with minimal apical contact, avoiding corneal complications from earlier fits. Rose K is the most common, featuring customisability and a steepened inferior quadrant for a more stable fit, said Dr Colby, who is professor and chair of ophthalmology and visual science at the University of Chicago, USA. Piggybacking an RGP on a soft base offers comfort and helps manage inferior cones, but doubles care requirements. Hybrid lenses are similar in a single lens, but can be slippery. Scleral lenses vault higher, improving comfort, but require saline to insert. The PROSE lens is customisable to accommodate cones, but is expensive and not available everywhere. “Ever-expanding contact lens options are available and most patients can be fit successfully. Contact lenses are an excellent way of improving vision in patients with keratoconus,” Dr Colby concluded.

Tags: contact lenses, keratoconus, The Cornea Society