Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lens For The Treatment Of Keratoconic Eye: A Retrospective Study

1. Mario Hutapea¹
2. Tri Rahayu¹

¹Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia - Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Purpose:
To evaluate the clinical outcome and fitting characteristics of rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens (CL) for the treatment of keratoconic eye in Jakarta Eye Center contact lens clinic over a 3-year period.

Methods:
This retrospective study reviewed eyes of consecutive patients worn lenses made of the tisilfocon-A RGP material. All subject had keratoconic eye based on corneal topography examination. The RGP CL was fitted in the Jakarta Eye Center contact lens clinic over the period 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2007.

Results:
Thirty two eyes (21 patients) were evaluated. The mean visual acuity with RGP CL (0.13 logMAR) was better than with spectacle (1.36 logMAR) (p=0.000). The RGP CL-fitting approach included three-point touch (84.40%) and apical bearing (15.60%). The mean duration of follow-up was 14.74 months. No incident of intolerance occurred during that period, but there were adverse events of corneal warpage (4 eyes) and giant papillary conjunctivitis (2 eyes). The keratometric reading after RGP CL-wearing in 9 eyes revealed that the mean flat K was steeper (p=0.021), the mean steep K was also steeper (p=0.213), and the mean corneal astigmatism was reduced (p=0.237). The degree of keratoconus based on steep K and the topographic pattern before and after CL-wearing were not statistically significant (p=0.317). The mean duration of repeated corneal topography was 21.44 months.

Conclusions:
Rigid gas permeable CL was effective and safe for improving the visual acuity in patient with keratoconic eye.