Soft contact lens use for upper eyelid surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of silicone hydrogel soft contact lenses in upper eyelid procedures.

Methods: Thirteen patients (14 eyes) who had full thickness upper lid reconstruction were studied. PureVision contact lenses were placed on the eyes at the commencement of the surgery. To evaluate the effectiveness of soft contact lens use, we looked at comfort, conjunctival injection, chemosis, corneal abrasion, lid oedema, evidence of infection and speed of healing.

Results: Nine eyes (64.29 per cent) were entirely asymptomatic. Three eyes developed corneal abrasions and changing the contact lenses led to resolution of the symptoms. One eye developed cloudy vision at one week due to accumulation of discharge behind the contact lens and another eye had foreign body sensation. Both had immediate relief with contact lenses removal. Mean duration of contact lens wear was 19.5 days (range, seven to 35 days). There were no cases of chemosis, infection, unexplained post-operative inflammation or delayed wound healing.

Conclusions: Despite its limitations, our study suggests that a soft contact lens may be a useful option in upper lid surgery.