I have had some interest in my experiences with the Synergeyes Duette lenses, so now that I have had more patients wearing the lenses and returning for follow-up I thought it was a good time to share. If you are interested in my original post, please click here.
For those who may not recall from my previous post, Synergeyes Duette is the hybrid lens that combines a rigid gas permeable (or hard lens) center with a soft contact lens skirt that surrounds the lens. The soft lens skirt provides added comfort and also helps deliver oxygen to the eye via the new silicone hydrogel material (in comparison to the original Synergeyes lens that had poorer oxygen transfer). It is a great choice for patients experiencing poor quality vision through soft contact lenses, especially in patients with astigmatism or those needing multifocal correction.
If you are a patient interested in trying the Synergeyes lenses, here are some things to know:
1) The lenses are quite large and can be hard to get used to at first. A lot of my patients request to try them, but when they see the size difference compared to their soft lenses they aren't as keen. For best comfort you will fill the contact lens bowl up with solution before inserting it, to provide added moisturization. To insert the lens patients often need to lean forward over a mirror placed flat on a table, and then insert the lens straight up towards the center of the eye. Due to this insertion method, it is not a great lens choice for a first time wearer due to the learning curve involved with inserting a lens of this size. Most patients have no trouble after a short course of practice.
2) There may be some dryness and lid awareness, especially early on in the fitting experience. Lid awareness should resolve with proper fit and adaptation time, but I have had patients with dry eye complaints prior to trying this lens notice their dryness seems worse. This dryness issue is not affecting all of my patients, but I am still working on how to resolve the complaints. Right now my efforts are centered over adjusting the fit to ensure that adequate tear flow is present under the lens. As far as solutions, I have been told by reps that the Revitalens solution is highly recommended with Synergeyes wear to improve comfort, though many other multi-purpose solutions can be effectively used. Personally I have had great success with Aquify and Clearcare solutions with this lens. Of course, I just love Clearcare in general, but that is another post, hah.
UPDATE: The above information is now very outdated, and I recommend seeing this post for better information. Suffice it to say that Revitalens is NOT what the current data supports even though the initial lens launch recommended this product. BioTrue is the solution of choice for Synergeyes Duette, with regular cleaning with an additional build up remover like MiraFlow.
3) The multifocal lens (Synergeyes Duette Multifocal) isn't going to be perfect. I have patients seeing 20/20 with this lens that aren't happy with the quality of their vision. Some of this is inherent in the lens design and I do try to tell patients exactly what their expectations should be. The design of this lens is called "simultaneous vision," and what that means to the wearer is that you are seeing both distance vision and near vision information "simultaneously." That's a lot for the brain to process. It can take 1-2 weeks of wearing time to know if this lens design will work for you. If you are a doctor fitting this lens, to increase distance vision you need to switch to a larger add zone, or consider going to a steep base curve skirt. To improve near vision, the add zone size needs to be small.
4) There is a major price tag on these lenses. Patients should expect to pay a higher contact lens fitting fee because your fit is going to include several visits to perfect your lens parameters. The lenses themselves are also expensive, typically around $200-$300 for a set of lenses. Keep in mind that each lens will last only 6 months, so you will need 4 lenses in total for a year's supply (that puts these around the $400-$600 range for your year!). This is different from traditional RGP (hard) contact lens wearers that may sometimes be able to use their lenses for 1-2 years.
If anyone has stories to share about these lenses, I would love to hear them!
For those who may not recall from my previous post, Synergeyes Duette is the hybrid lens that combines a rigid gas permeable (or hard lens) center with a soft contact lens skirt that surrounds the lens. The soft lens skirt provides added comfort and also helps deliver oxygen to the eye via the new silicone hydrogel material (in comparison to the original Synergeyes lens that had poorer oxygen transfer). It is a great choice for patients experiencing poor quality vision through soft contact lenses, especially in patients with astigmatism or those needing multifocal correction.
Synergeyes contact lens: notice the darker colored hard lens (RGP) in the center to provide sharp, clear optics |
If you are a patient interested in trying the Synergeyes lenses, here are some things to know:
1) The lenses are quite large and can be hard to get used to at first. A lot of my patients request to try them, but when they see the size difference compared to their soft lenses they aren't as keen. For best comfort you will fill the contact lens bowl up with solution before inserting it, to provide added moisturization. To insert the lens patients often need to lean forward over a mirror placed flat on a table, and then insert the lens straight up towards the center of the eye. Due to this insertion method, it is not a great lens choice for a first time wearer due to the learning curve involved with inserting a lens of this size. Most patients have no trouble after a short course of practice.
2) There may be some dryness and lid awareness, especially early on in the fitting experience. Lid awareness should resolve with proper fit and adaptation time, but I have had patients with dry eye complaints prior to trying this lens notice their dryness seems worse. This dryness issue is not affecting all of my patients, but I am still working on how to resolve the complaints. Right now my efforts are centered over adjusting the fit to ensure that adequate tear flow is present under the lens. As far as solutions, I have been told by reps that the Revitalens solution is highly recommended with Synergeyes wear to improve comfort, though many other multi-purpose solutions can be effectively used. Personally I have had great success with Aquify and Clearcare solutions with this lens. Of course, I just love Clearcare in general, but that is another post, hah.
UPDATE: The above information is now very outdated, and I recommend seeing this post for better information. Suffice it to say that Revitalens is NOT what the current data supports even though the initial lens launch recommended this product. BioTrue is the solution of choice for Synergeyes Duette, with regular cleaning with an additional build up remover like MiraFlow.
via |
3) The multifocal lens (Synergeyes Duette Multifocal) isn't going to be perfect. I have patients seeing 20/20 with this lens that aren't happy with the quality of their vision. Some of this is inherent in the lens design and I do try to tell patients exactly what their expectations should be. The design of this lens is called "simultaneous vision," and what that means to the wearer is that you are seeing both distance vision and near vision information "simultaneously." That's a lot for the brain to process. It can take 1-2 weeks of wearing time to know if this lens design will work for you. If you are a doctor fitting this lens, to increase distance vision you need to switch to a larger add zone, or consider going to a steep base curve skirt. To improve near vision, the add zone size needs to be small.
4) There is a major price tag on these lenses. Patients should expect to pay a higher contact lens fitting fee because your fit is going to include several visits to perfect your lens parameters. The lenses themselves are also expensive, typically around $200-$300 for a set of lenses. Keep in mind that each lens will last only 6 months, so you will need 4 lenses in total for a year's supply (that puts these around the $400-$600 range for your year!). This is different from traditional RGP (hard) contact lens wearers that may sometimes be able to use their lenses for 1-2 years.
If anyone has stories to share about these lenses, I would love to hear them!