title: Influence of a Therapeutic Soft Contact Lens on Epithelial Healing, Visual Recovery, Haze, and Pain After Photorefractive Keratectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the influence of a therapeutic soft contact lens (TSCL) after alcohol-assisted photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) on visual recovery, epithelial closure, pain perception, and haze formation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, randomized, single-center, contralateral eye, patient-masked study. Same surgeon treated 15 patients with bilateral PRK using a Vidaurri Fluid Retention Ring (Katena) with 8.7 mm inner diameter to apply ethanol 18% for 30 sec. Each patient received a TSCL (Balafilcon A, PureVision, Bausch & Lomb) in a randomized fashion in one eye only.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Without knowing which eye had a contact lens, four patients preferred the eye with TSCL so much that these patients wanted a TSCL inserted in the second eye as well. Uncorrected distance visual acuity improved postoperatively from day 1 to 3 months from 0.61 to 1.18 with TSCL and from 0.21 to 1.04 without TSCL. Uncorrected distance visual acuity was statistically significantly better on days 1 and 2 with TSCL. Epithelial defect was on average smaller with TSCL. Epithelium was closed at day 4 in all eyes except one without TSCL. Pain perception was significantly lower with TSCL on days 1 and 2. Haze levels after 3 months were significantly lower with TSCL (with 0.09/without 0.45, respectively). One eye without TSCL had haze grade 2 (Fantes).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A TSCL had statistically significantly and clinically meaningful beneficial effects in the first days in visual recovery and pain perception and after 3 months in haze formation. Epithelial healing was slightly quicker with the use of TSCLs (not statistically, but clinically significantly).
authors: Eye Department (S.T., S.O.), St. Francis Hospital, Center for Refractive Surgery, Muenster, Germany; School of Medicine and Dentistry (S.M.), University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY; and Eye Clinic (S.T., H.B.D.), Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.
authors: Suphi
authors: S
authors: Taneri
authors: Saskia
authors: S
authors: Oehler
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: MacRae
authors: H Burkhard
authors: HB
authors: Dick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D058447:Eye Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000628:therapy; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000628:therapy; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing; D055815:Young Adult