Contact Lenses Provide Extended Pain Relief to Laser Eye Surgery Patients

ContactContact Lenses Provide Extended Pain Relief to Laser Eye Surgery Patients

Scientists are reporting development of ContactContact lenses that could   provide a continuous supply of anesthetic medication to the eyes of   patients who undergo laser eye surgery -- an advance that could relieve   patients of the burden of repeatedly placing drops of medicine into   their eyes every few hours for several days.Their report appears in ACS' journal Langmuir

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Anuj Chauhan and colleagues explain that more than 1 million laser   eye correction procedures are performed each year in the U.S. The   surgery enables most patients to see clearly without eye glasses or   ContactContact lenses. The procedure known as LASIK is the most common type of   laser eye surgery, but complications can develop if the patient   undergoes trauma or is hit very hard at any time after the procedure.   Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) doesn't have this complication, and   that's why it is preferred for athletes and those in the military. A   downside to PRK, however, is a longer period of pain after surgery. To   ease their pain, PRK patients place drops of several medications,   including anesthetics, into their eyes every few hours, which can   interfere with daily life and increase the risk of drug overdose. PRK   patients receive a special "bandage ContactContact lens" after surgery to help   the outer layer of the eye heal.


The researchers tested whether anesthetics loaded onto this type of   lens could release the drugs over time automatically. They found that   adding vitamin E to the lenses extended the time of release of three   commonly used anesthetics from just under two hours to up to an entire   day -- or a few days in some instances. The vitamin E acts as a barrier,   keeping the anesthetics on the eye, right where they are needed. The   researchers say that, in the future, these lenses could serve as bandage   ContactContact lenses after PRK surgery while also delivering necessary pain   medications.


The authors acknowledge funding from the University of Florida. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118112001.htm


The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.


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