The Acuvue disposable contact lens as a therapeutic bandage lens.

The Bio-Cor collagen shield (Bausch and Lomb, Rochester, NY) is thought to speed corneal epithelial healing and is available in dissolution rates of 12, 24, and 72 hours to suit the needs of the patient. It often is recommended over soft hydrophilic therapeutic lenses for short-term use, such as postoperatively and after corneal abrasions, in which cases the lens should dissolve within the specified period of time. I found these lenses to be unreliable in their dissolution rates. I presented four cases of corneal epithelial breakdown in which the collagen lenses were tried but were not successful. All cases did well with a hydrophilic soft lens, namely the Acuvue disposable lens, used for therapeutic purposes. The advantage of using a disposable lens rather than a standard therapeutic soft lens is its lower cost. Disposable lenses are cheaper than both regular soft lenses and collagen shields. It makes good economic sense to try these as a therapeutic lens of first choice when one is needed.