The use of contact lenses to correct aphakia in a clinical trial of cataract management

In a prospective study, 110 eligible patients (111 eyes) were randomly selected to have contact lenses for aphakia (CL). The lens of first choice was a daily-wear hard (DWH) PMMA contact lens. Extended-wear (XW) lenses were fitted to those who failed with DWH lenses. The numbers in the two groups were approximately equal. Eighty per cent of eyes were successfully wearing CLs six months post-operatively and 72% were still wearing them after five years. The mean age of both groups of patients was greater than 70 years but the DWH group was significantly younger (p<0.001). However, XW lens wearers suffered more serious complications, needed more follow-up and more lens replacements. There were also more drop-outs from the XW group compared to the DWH group.