Corneal curvature and refractive error changes associated with wearing hydrogel contact lenses

To determine if there are corneal curvature and refractive error changes associated with hydrogel lens wear, 27 patients wearing F series Bausch & Lomb SOFLENS-TM contact lenses were examined regularly for nine months. During the first month of lens wear, a mean corneal steepening of 0.23 DK plus or minus 0.18 and an increase in with-the-rule toricity were found, which persisted during the following eight months of wear. A mean increase in myopia of 0.35 DS plus or minus .211 DS was found after nine months of lens wear for five randomly selected patients. This amount of change was statistically significant and was highly correlated with the observed corneal steepening. Their lenses were removed after nine months of lens wear. Both corneal changes and the increase in myopia persisted during the 14 days after lens removal. If long term studies with larger samples show similar results, the effect of hydrogel lenses on corneal curvature and refractive error will have to be considered in the decision to fit this type of lens.