[Fungal growth on soft contact lenses (author's transl)]

The relevance of fungal contamination of soft contact lenses is demonstrated by own clinical observations in 25 cases. It can be shown by surface-microscopical, histological and mycological analysis, that various fungi can not only grow on the surface of HEMA-lenses, but can also invade the material. The efficacy of chemical disinfectants, as tested against two of the isolated fungi seems to be inferior to that of heat sterilisation. The resulting fundamentally and clinically important consequences, especially concerning permanent wear of hydrophilic contact lenses, are discussed.