Aphakic patient response to extended wear contact lenses

65 aphakic patients (89 eyes) wore extended wear contact lenses for an average period of 22.8 months. 74% of the patients developed one or more readily detectable ocular changes during the course of the study. These complications, their frequency, cause and management are described and discussed. In spite of the large number of complications, 82% of the patients were still wearing lenses at the termination of the study period. None of the complications were serious enough to produce ocular tissue damage that resulted in any permanent loss of vision. Careful patient management and frequent follow-up visits were the key to achieving successful wearing results.