Effect of early use of innovative-generation Silicone-Hydrogel bandage contact lenses after SMILE on the ocular surface

Objective Determine efficacy and safety of a silicone-hydrogel bandage contact lens (CL) after full femtosecond laser-assisted small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). This paired-eye study involved 24 patients (48 eyes). One eye per patient used the CL after surgery; the other served as control. The CL was removed on postoperative day 1. Objective assessments were recorded before surgery and on day 1, week 1, and month 1. Day-1 comfort score was also recorded. Results Corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) on day 1 in the test and control groups was significantly higher than baseline ( F  = 32.74, P  < 0.001 and F  = 154.8, P  < 0.001, respectively). CFS for the test group was significantly lower than control ( t  = 7.302, P  < 0.001). Both tear film breakup time (TBUT) and Schirmer I test were shorter compared with baseline with statistically significant between-group differences (TBUT, t  = 5.271, P  < 0.001; Schirmer I test, t  = 3.033, P  < 0.001). Tear meniscus height was significantly lower than baseline in both groups (control, F  = 22.21, P  < 0.001; test, F  = 26.27, P  < 0.001); between-group differences were not statistically significant ( t  = 0.202, P  > 0.05). The test group was statistically superior for comfort measures ( t  = 4.099, P  < 0.001). Early use of a novel bandage CL after SMILE improved subjective discomfort symptoms, relieved early ocular surface injury and promoted stability of the tear film.