ABSTRACT

Pur­po­se:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of visual rehabilitation provided by rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGPCL) in patients with keratoconus.

Ma­te­ri­al and Met­hod:

RGPCL were practiced on a total of 267 eyes of 144 patients with keratoconus who had no previous eye disease and surgery. These eyes were evaluated in 4 groups according to their keratometry values, visual acuity (VA), progression, and complications. Paired t-test was used in statistical evaluations performed by SPSS for Windows (version 15.0).

Re­sults:

Keratoconus was classified as mild, moderate, advanced, and severe according to mean keratometry values in 39 (14.6%), 80 (30%), 128 (47.9%), and 20 (7.5%) eyes, respectively. Disease was unilateral in 2 patients (1.38%). Significant steeping was determined in comparison of K1 and K2 values at first and last follow-up visits of patients in mild, moderate and advanced keratoconus groups. VA obtained by application of RGPCL in all patient groups was significantly better than the VA corrected by spectacles (p<0.0001). No significant change was determined in mean VA obtained by RGPCL during disease course. In comparison of mean radius of curvature of first and second contact lenses, second contact lens was found to be significantly steeper in advanced and severe keratoconus groups. Corneal erosions, acute hydrops, allergic conjunctivitis, and dry eye were found in 15 (5.6%), 5 (1.8%), 19 (7.1%), and 29 (10.8%) eyes, respectively. One patient ceased using lenses due to giant papillary conjunctivitis.

Dis­cus­si­on:

RGPCL were successfully applied to patients in all groups. Although it is a laborious and time-consuming method, application of contact lenses still seem to be one of the primary options in treatment of keratoconus in the meaning of gaining a satisfactory VA and less complication risk.