Correction of Irregular Astigmatism With New-Generation Hybrid Contact Lenses

To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and on-eye performance of new-generation hybrid contact lenses (HCLs) in visual rehabilitation of eyes with irregular astigmatism and rigid gas-permeable (RGP) contact lens intolerance or failure.

The charts of patients who had been fit with new-generation HCLs were retrospectively reviewed. The reason for HCL fit and previous method of correction were noted. After the initial on-eye evaluation, visual and refractive outcomes, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and lens comfort were evaluated at the last follow-up examination.

Forty-seven eyes of 33 patients could be fit successfully with EyeBrid silicone (LCS, Cane, France) or Airflex (SwissLens, Prilly, Switzerland) lenses. The mean number of trial lenses required for ideal fit was 1.4±0.6 (range; 1-3) lenses. The reason for fit was either centration problems with RGP lenses or RGP intolerance. Twenty-nine eyes of 20 patients (72.5%) continued wearing their lenses more than 10 hr a day and for more than 3 months. In these successful wearers, the visual acuity (VA) improved significantly compared with the baseline uncorrected and spectacle-corrected VA (P<0.01), and no serious adverse events were encountered during the mean follow-up period of 10.1±6.4 months. At the last follow-up examination, patients preferred the new-generation HCLs over their habitual correction in regard to both VA and quality (P<0.05).

New-generation HCLs seem to provide a viable alternative for visual rehabilitation of irregular astigmatism in selected eyes with RGP intolerance or RGP failure. The ease of the fitting process similar to fitting soft toric lenses and high patient satisfaction seem to be major advantages of these designs.