CooperVision recently announced that it is expanding its recall of the Avaira brand of contact lenses due to the level of silicone oil residue on the lenses. Over 4.9 million Avaira Sphere contact lenses were added to the August recall of over 780,000 Avaira Toric lenses that were linked to blurred vision, eye injuries, and severe eye pain. This recall comes after the Food and Drug Administration issued a Class 1 warning about the products, the most serious kind of recall involving problems with a reasonable chance of serious injury or death.
According to the FDA, there have been over 40 reports of problems associated with various types of Avaira contact lenses. Dozens of Avaira Toric users reported problems ranging from hazy vision to severe injuries, including torn corneas requiring emergency medical treatment. The FDA has also accused CooperVision of issuing a “stealth recall” in August as most consumers were unaware of the problem. CooperVision has set aside over $9 million for the cost of the expanded recall, and expects to spend $23.2 million on issues dealing with the recalls. Consumers should return their lenses to their eye care practitioner if they have the affected contact lenses. Any consumer wearing the affected lenses and experiencing any symptoms should stop wearing the lenses immediately and contact their eye practitioner or CooperVision for advice.