Permanent wear of soft contact lenses in aphakic eyes.

In a five-year study, permanent wear of soft contact lenses was achieved by selecting patients and lenses properly, and offered a viable and probably safer alternative to intraocular lenses. Twenty-five of these 49 patients wore their initial lens or a similar lens continuously for over three years. A visual acuity of 6/12 (20/40) or better was obtained in 45 (91.8%) patients. Four (8%) had ocular problems not related to contact lenses that precluded the same improvement in central vision. The most common complications were reversible epithelial edema, superficial vascularization, and conjunctivitis. There was a strong correlation between edema and superficial vascularization in eyes fitted with lenses having a poorly made inside bevel. Calcium deposits were the most frequently found spot on permanent-wear soft contact lenses (nine eyes, 18%).