Stabilization in early adult-onset myopia with corneal refractive therapy

•Orthokeratology changes the relative peripheral astigmatic components in patients with early-adult onset myopia.•Despite their ages, the early-adult onset myopes presented in this case series experienced a significant myopia progression before they were treated with orthokeratology.•After starting orthokeratology treatment these patients showed slower progression or no progression of their refractive error.•Axial length remained stable during orthokeratology treatment in early-adult onset myopia.

PurposeTo describe the stabilization of early adult-onset myopia in three university students after initiating orthokeratology treatment with corneal refractive therapy contact lenses.MethodsThree Caucasian early adult-onset progressing myopic subjects (1 male, 2 females) were fitted with corneal refractive therapy lenses to correct myopia between −1.50 and −2.50 D of sphere using Paragon CRT (Paragon Vision Sciences, Mesa, AZ) lenses for overnight orthokeratology. The pre-treatment refractive history from 2005 as well as refraction and axial length after treatment onset are reported over a period of 3 years between December 2009 and January 2013 with an additional year of follow-up after treatment discontinuation (January–December 2013). The peripheral refractive patterns and topographic changes are also reported individually.ResultsTreatment was successful in all three subjects achieving uncorrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better monocularly. During a period of 3 years of follow-up the subjects did not experience progression in their refractive error, nor in their axial length (measured during the last 2 years of treatment and 1 year after discontinuation). Furthermore, the subjects recovered to their baseline refraction and did not progressed further over the following year after lens wear discontinuation.ConclusionsWe cannot attribute a causative effect to the orthokeratology treatment alone as underlying mechanism for myopia stabilization in this 3 patients. However, the present report points to the possibility of stabilization of early adult-onset myopia progression in young adults using corneal refractive therapy treatment.