CONTACT LENS CLAIM NOT A WIDESPREAD VIEW FOR CAUSING PTOSIS (DROOPY EYELID)

BYLINE: Carolyn Susman
DATE: January 22, 2003
PUBLICATION: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: ACCENT
PAGE: 3D
COLUMN: On Health

Cynics like to say, don't believe what you read. Well, journalists subscribe to that dictum, too.

The producers would have met the couple's two big, goofy, affectionate dogs. They would have gotten a glimpse of the brand-new white Harley - just Sara's size - right next to Michael's big blue one.

Reporters almost never run a story based on one source because you may not get a complete or accurate picture. Recently, I received a press release from a doctor who said he was board-certified in both plastic surgery and diseases of the eye. The press statement said the doctor had seen patients who, after years of stretching their eyelids to put in and take out contact lenses, had relaxed the eyelid muscle.

This condition, called ptosis or droopy eyelids, can be found in people where it runs in their family, or can develop from injury. I had never heard of it as a side effect of contact lens wearing and had never heard lens wearers complain about it, so - no pun intended - it caught my eye.

I do have a friend who had surgery to correct the condition, but he had a family history and never wore lenses.

So, I called two plastic surgeons and an ophthalmologist who is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. None had seen cases of ptosis related to contact lens use.

"I've been in practice 18 years and I've never had a ptosis after contact lens wear," said Dr. Monica L. Monica of New Orleans, the Academy spokesperson. "And 50 percent of my cases are contact lens (wearers.)

"You can say that I find the observation interesting, although I've never had a case. Ninety-nine percent of my patients wear soft lenses - and perhaps with more soft lenses we're not seeing this problem."

Another doctor, Edward Truppman of Miami, who is past president of both the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the Florida Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, said he, too, had never seen a contact lens-related case and called it a "non-problem. It would require an extraordinary amount of stretching," he added.

My third source - I wanted to believe it, that makes it a much better story - echoed the other two.

Dr. Fred Barr, a West Palm Beach plastic surgeon, said that he had never seen it, either.

"I'm sure there are case reports in (medical) literature. The real issue is which came first, the laxity of the muscle or the repetitive stretching with contact lenses? Is it possible to have this condition? Of course it is. Is it related to contacts, who knows?"

I did run across two clinical papers posted on the Internet, one by an ophthalmic surgeon from the University of Vermont, and one by a professor at the University of Iowa. Both said that long-term contact lens use has been implicated in the development of ptosis, and that hard contact lens wearers may develop it from "years of repeated stretching of the lid during lens removal."

Where do we stand? Lens wearers shouldn't panic about the possibility of developing droopy eyelids. And there is good treatment for the condition when it does occur.

But we all should remember not to accept everything we hear or read at face value. Especially where our health is concerned.

On Health is a weekly column on health issues. If you have questions or comments, write Carolyn Susman at The Palm Beach Post, P.O. Box 24700, West Palm Beach, Fla. 33416, call 820-4433 or e-mail carolyn_susman@pbpost.com

Copyright (c) 2003 Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.