Experience of using scleral gas-permeable contact lenses in patients with keratoconus at Tambov branch of Eye Microsurgery

Scleral rigid gas-permeable contact lenses are a method of optical correction with distinctive feature as the lens rests exclusively on the sclera and does not touch the cornea and limbus. The research purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of this correction method in patients with keratoconus of various stages. Materials and methods. The study involved 40 people (54 eyes), including 34 men and 6 women. All patients were divided into 4 groups corresponding to the stages of keratoconus. The 1st group included 5 eyes, the mean age of patients with the 1st stage of keratoconus was 23.0 years. The 2nd group included 21 eyes, the mean age of patients with the 2nd stage of keratoconus was 34.0 years. The 3rd group included 24 eyes, the mean age of patients with the 3rd stage of keratoconus was 34.5 years. The 4th group included 4 eyes, the mean age of patients with the 4th stage of keratoconus was 31.0 years. Results. The best corrected visual acuity in the 1st group before using scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.40, the best corrected visual acuity in scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 1.0. In the 2nd group, the best corrected visual acuity before using scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.20, while wearing scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.90. In the 3rd group, the best corrected visual acuity before using scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.10, the best corrected visual acuity in scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.85. In the 4th group, the best corrected visual acuity before using scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.10, the best corrected visual acuity in scleral gas-permeable contact lenses was 0.6. Conclusion. Thus, based on the conducted re-search, it was concluded that scleral gas-permeable contact lenses significantly improve the visual acuity in patients and can be used in cases where other correction methods are not effective.