Folded bandage contact lens retention in a patient with bilateral dry eye symptoms: a case report

BACKGROUND: Bandage contact lenses are commonly used by ophthalmic practitioners to protect the patient’s cornea. We report a case of folded bandage contact lens retained for six and a half years in the upper subtarsal space. To our knowledge, no other cases of retained bandage contact lens have previously been reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A patient was applied a pair of bandage contact lenses due to persistent ocular pain secondary to dry eye symptoms. At her subsequent visit, bandage contact lens was removed from her left eye, but none was found in the right eye. Documentation from further visit stated that the bandage contact lenses were no longer in situ. 6.5 years since the lens insertion, lid eversion revealed a ‘foreign body’ retained beneath her right upper eyelid, which was noted to be a folded, discoloured bandage contact lens. CONCLUSIONS: The ‘upper fornix trap’, where the contact lens may be retained by the upper tarsal edge, presents an anatomical hazard for contact lens users. Moreover, soft contact lenses may be more likely to retain asymptomatically and to fold onto itself compared to hard lenses. Our case report highlights the importance of performing a thorough eye examination, which includes double eversion of the upper eyelids and sweeping of the fornices with cotton buds, and maintaining clinical suspicion of contact lens retention.