EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM SOFT CONTACT LENS WEAR ON HUMAN OCULAR ABERRATIONS

Objective To evaluate the effect of short-term soft contact lens (SCLs) wearing on human ocular aberrations (HOA). Methods This prospective study included 50 eyes of 50 young volunteers wearing SCLs for 1 month. The ocular aberrations were measured by Allegretto Wavefront Analyzer. The root-mean-square (RMS) values of the general (RMSG), higher-order (RMSH), first to sixth order (RMS1 to RMS6) and aberration coefficients were analyzed. Results There were no significant differences in the mean values of RMSG, RMSH, RMS1 to RMS6 (P>0.05) and changes of absolute values of aberration coefficients between baseline and various visits after SCLs discontinuation. However, at d 1 after the discontinuation of SCLs, changes in coefficient values of the third-order aberrations (C6 to C9) were slightly higher than others, and C7 was the highest. The increase factors of RMS values were higher at 1 week and lower at the 2 week visit after SCLs discontinuation. The uniformity of dominating type in HOA and the corneal topography form was both about 60% after discontinuation of SCLs. The corneal thickness increased after SCLs wear and gradually decreased to baseline until 1 month discontinuation of SCLs. Conclusion The effect of short-term SCLs wear on human ocular aberrations is slight but profound. A month or more wait should be allowed before the short-term SCLs wearers are scheduled for wavefronted-guided LASIK.