A 20-year retrospective study of the use of contact lenses in keratoconus
Kastl, P.R.; Donzis, P.B.; Cole, H.P.; Rice, J.; Baldone, J.A.
Clao Journal Official Publication of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists Inc 13(2): 102-104
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0733-8902 PMID: 3329071 Document Number: 301681
The use of contact lenses for treating keratoconus was evaluated retrospectively for a 20-year period. Contact lenses.sbd.soft, hard, or piggyback.sbd.were successfully fit in 95% of the patients. Overall, 81% of the patients achieved 20/40 or better visual acuity. Additionally, 73% of the patients maintained stable vision within two lines of their initial visual acuity. Our results indicate that contact lenses should be the initial treatment of choice for keratoconus, and that, with proper lens fitting, most patients can achieve better than 20/40 visual acuity. Still, an occasional patient will require penetrating keratoplasty due to contact lens intolerance, corneal thinning or scarring, or poor visual acuity.