Migration of rigid gas permeable contact lens into the upper eyelid after trauma: a case report

BACKGROUND: Migration of a rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens after trauma is rare, and its clinical characteristics have not been fully discussed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 36-year-old female showed mild swelling in the right upper eyelid. She lost her RGP contact lens seven months prior to her first visit, from trauma by her child’s kick to the right eye. At the first examination, we felt a firm lump inferior to the right brow. Eversion of the upper eyelid also revealed a firm subconjunctival mass superior to the upper tarsus. After incising the conjunctiva, the RGP contact lens was found without a fibrous capsule and granulation tissue in the subconjunctival space. Three years after removal of the lens, the patient did not show any complications, including ptosis. CONCLUSION: The RGP contact lens in the present case migrated into the subconjunctival space superior to the upper tarsus without a fibrous capsule and granulation tissue. These findings are similar to those in previously reported traumatic cases but are different from those in some spontaneous migration cases. This difference may be caused by differences in the migration mechanisms.