Efficacy and Safety of LK Scleral Lens for Patients With Intractable Ocular Surface Diseases: A Prospective, Multicenter, Open-Label, Single-Arm Clinical Trial

To date, there are several commercially manufactured scleral lenses of different designs and sizes, all of which have been proven to be clinically beneficial in a wide spectrum of diseases. Especially in the management of intractable ocular surface diseases, scleral lenses with large diameters are commonly used so that the lens entirely rests on the sclera with sufficient tear reservoir. PROSE devices (Boston Foundation for Sight, Needham, MA), one of the first and representative scleral lenses shown to have long-term clinical benefits for complex corneal diseases, have large diameters of 17.5 to 23.0 mm. However, in Republic of Korea, only scleral lenses with small diameters are currently available. SoClearⓇ and OnefitⓇ scleral lenses, two of the most commonly used scleral lenses in Republic of Korea, possess diameters ranging from 14.1 to 15.5 mm and 13.3 to 15.0 mm, respectively, and are not actually fully scleral but more of a corneoscleral type lenses. Furthermore, Asians have smaller palpebral fissures with tighter eyelids than the Western population, which may restrict patients' tolerability of wearing a large scleral lens and limit its clinical benefits. Therefore, a more suitable scleral lens for Asians with larger diameter is required.

Accordingly, this study investigates the efficacy and safety of the LK scleral lens (Lucid Korea LTD, Seoul, Republic of Korea), which has been newly manufactured to have larger diameters than currently available commercial lenses, and determines their suitability in Asian patients with intractable ocular surface diseases.