New research has shown that the nearsighted progression which typically occurs in children and adolescents can be slowed down. The typical treatment for nearsighted patients is are glasses or soft contact lenses. However, glasses and soft contact lenses will not prevent the progression of nearsightedness. New research has shown that nearsighted changes can be slowed down with Corneal Refractive Therapy.
Patients can be free of daytime contact lenses and glasses without surgery. Recent clinical research combined with the latest corneal surface mapping technology, computerized manufacturing, and high oxygen breathable materials have brought new science to corneal reshaping.
Corneal Refractive Therapy involves wearing therapeutic contact lenses at night to gently re-shape the curvature of your eye. This results in the correction of nearsightedness so that when you remove the lenses in the morning, you have clear vision without using any lenses during the day.
What is Corneal Refractive Therapy?
It is a non-surgical, reversible process to gently re-shape your cornea while you sleep. The result is great vision for you without needing to wear contact lenses or glasses during the day. The process is similar to wearing a dental retainer at night. You insert the therapeutic contact lenses at night while you sleep and remove them in the morning. This allows you have corrected vision throughout the day without needing to wear contact lenses or glasses.
What is Keratoconus?
Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory protrusion of the cornea. It is characterized by progressive steepening and thinning of the cornea. As the condition progresses, the patient experiences a decrease in vision quality. Onset is usually in the teen years or early 20’s and is found in both men and women. It happens in both eyes, but one eye usually starts first. This causes vision to become asymmetric. The second eye can lag behind the first eye by 5 – 7 years.
As the condition progresses, the cornea becomes increasingly distorted such that a change in glasses or soft lens prescription will no longer correct vision adequately. The patient would then require a gas permeable contact lens to achieve acceptable vision. While the progression of the disease is unpredictable and does interfere with sharpness of vision, it rarely causes blindness. With the latest in contact lens technology, adequate vision and excellent comfort is possible without the need for a corneal transplant.
Because the disease will progress, it is important that the lenses are fitted with great care and evaluated at least annually. Dr. Brown uses the latest in contact lens technology including Rose K, Synergeyes Hybrid, and Scleral contact lenses. This allows her to custom fit the lens to each individual eye, because all keratoconus eyes are unique.
What is Pellucid Marginal Degeneration?
PMD is a bilateral corneal disorder hallmarked by inferior corneal thinning, resulting in high degrees of against-the-rule corneal astigmatism. It affects both genders, most often between the ages of 20 and 40, with no apparent hereditary transmission. It is differentiated from keratoconus in that with PMD, central corneas retain normal thickness. Dr. Brown uses the latest in contact lens technology including Rose K IC, SynergEyes Hybrid, and and Scleral contact lenses to custom fit the lens to each individual eye.
