Contact Lenses for Ocular Surface Disease

Ocular surface disease can be difficult to manage, causing patients discomfort and vision loss. Therapeutic contact lenses are an important treatment option that is often neglected because it is conventional wisdom that eyes that are dry or irritated are not good candidates for contact lens. In this focused review, we consider the substantial literature on the use of bandage soft contact lenses (BSCL), scleral lenses, and customized prosthetic devices in the management of ocular graft-vs-host disease. Reports on BSCLs for recurrent corneal erosion are reviewed, as is literature on scleral lenses and prosthetic replacement of the ocular surface ecosystem treatment for Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Clinical pearls for fitting BSCLs are presented, and the issue of antibiotic prophylaxis is considered.