New contacts work like Lasik surgery
By Jim Ritter
July 15, 2002

Nightly wear lenses reshape corneas of nearsighted.

Andrew Richter has an unusual schedule for wearing contact lenses. He puts them in before going to bed and takes them out when he wakes up.

The lenses, billed as an alternative to Lasik surgery, gently reshape Richter's corneas while he sleeps, allowing him to see clearly during the day.

The Food and Durg Administration recently approved the lenses, made by Paragon Vision Sciences. At least two other companies, Bausch and Lomb and Contex, are developing similar nightly wear lenses.

Wearing contacts during the day can be a hassle. The lenses pop out, need adjusting or can make eyes dry and itchy. Contacts can be hard or impossible to wear in dry, dusty or smoky environments, or while swimming. Each year, about 2 million users stop wearing them.

But contacts are easier to wear at night. "When my eyes are closed, I barely notice them," said Richter, who lives in Deerfield. Another advantage: If he gets up during the night, he doesn't have to put his glasses on to see.

Paragon lenses can correct for all but the most severe nearsightedness, as well as many cases of astigmatism. The lenses do not work for farsightedness.

Nearsightedness is caused by a steepening of the cornea, the transparent tissue in front of the colored part of the eye. In the Lasik procedure, a doctor uses a laser and surgical knife to flatten the cornea.

The Paragon lens applies a slight pressure to the center of the eye, flatening the cornea and bringing the eye into focus. The lens must be worn nightly, or the cornea will revert to its original shape and the nearsightedness will return.

Paragon Vision recommends users wear the contacts every night. But some users with mild nearsightedness can get away with wearing them every second or third night, said Richter's optometrist, S. Barry Eiden of North Suburban Vision Consultants in Deerfield.

Paragon contacts are made of the same rigid material as seven-day extended wear contacts. The materials is gas permeable, meaning it allows oxygen to reach the eye during sleep.

Paragon said the sytem generally costs $900 to $1,500 the first year. Thereafter, the contacts must be replaced once a year at a cost of $300 to $350. Like Lasik, Paragon generally isn't covered by insurance.

The night lenses will appeal to people who do not like wearing glasses or contacts during the day but are leery of Lasik, which can have side effects such as halos and dry eyes and sometimes requires followup surgery.

"Laser surgery didn't seem like an option for me," said Paragon user Kim First of Chicago. "It's so permanent."

First said her vision is better than 20/20. "It's like a miracle," she said. "I can see without anything on or in my eyes."

The lenses don't work so well for everyone. In a company-sponsored study of 205 users, 4 percent dropped out because the lenses were uncomfortable and 21 percent dropped out because of unacceptable vision. The study found that 67 percent of patients had vision 20/20 or better and 95 percent had vision 20/40 or better.

Like other contacts, Paragon lenses can cause eye infections, inflammation, redness and painful scratched corneas. And, like Lasik, Paragon lenses can cause halos or star bursts, but such effects will go away if a user stops wearing the lenses, Eiden said.