Reputations are like bank accounts, I find, It takes ages to build them up but no time at all to get back into the red. Once in the red it’s really hard to get back in the black!
The reputation of hybrid lenses, I hope is now in the black but I still get asked about the times it wasn’t.
The most common mistaken statements I hear are:
- They’re fragile!
- A nightmare to handle
- Complicated to fit and needs special equipment
- You need a chemistry set to keep them clean
‘They’re fragile’
With SynergEyes Hybrid range of lenses I think we’ve got the bases covered so read on the hear about the first two misconceptions in today’s newsletter and we’ll cover the others next time!
When hybrids first appeared in the early to mid 1980s they were fragile and patients regularly pulled them apart. Things have moved on a little in the last 40 years and SynergEyes lenses have a unique, patented Hyperbond® junction that cannot come apart.
SynergEyes use two proprietary materials; the silicon hydrogel skirt and the RGP centre. These bond at a molecular level – see the science below – which leads me into the next misconception.
The image shows the SiHy skirt of a SynergEyes hybrid lens elongated at least 300% of its original length.
Zero (0%) of samples had separation between RGP and SiHy.
| The Hyperbond® Junction – the scienceProprietary GP Center PETRAFOCON A (DK 130)Proprietary Silicone Skirt LARAFILCON A (DK 845)SynergEyes uses proprietary materials and patented bonding technology, where the silicone hydrogel material is covalently bonded with the GP portion of the lens. A covalent bond forms when the difference between the electronegativities of two atoms is too small for an electron transfer to occur to form ions. Shared electrons located in the space between the two nuclei are called bonding electrons. The bonded pair is the ‘glue’ that holds the atoms together in molecular units.1 |
‘A nightmare to handle’
In the past, these lenses had to be removed with care for fear of peeling the soft skirt away from the inflexible RGP. This, to a much lesser extent, still prevails with some other hybrids, requiring a specific removal technique however, not for SynergEyes lenses.
Remove like a soft lens
Because of the Hyperbond® junction and the unique way the junction is designed with an area of lift at the edge of the RGP, a simple, firm pinch on the soft skirt with dry fingers in a similar manner to removing a soft lens will crease the skirt, allow air under the whole lens, breaking all tension from the tear film and allow the lens to be removed.
Insertion couldn’t be easier
For the lenses designed for regular corneas, a drop if saline or artificial tears in the lens will offer additional comfort and they can be applied in a similar way to soft or RGP lenses by holding the lids and putting straight on the cornea.
The lenses for irregular corneas do need filling with saline to ensure no air bubbles are trapped and removal is identical to the above method.