Specialty Contact Lenses

HARD TO FIT CONTACT LENS WEARERS

It is not uncommon for some people to have additional challenges when it comes to getting properly fitted for contacts that feel good and see well. Due to a number of reasons, such as an individuals eye shape, certain eye conditions and/or impairments, some patients are considered to be “hard to fit” as contact lens wearers. 

Our optometrists offer specialty contact lens fittings for those with complex prescriptions and/or any corneal conditions in which conventional spectacles or soft contact lenses do not provide adequate vision or comfort.

Special eye conditions call for special solutions. It may be time to look beyond standard contacts and explore specialty contacts.

Indications

  • High astigmatism
  • Progressive myopia
  • Keratoconus
  • Pellucid marginal degeneration
  • Severe dry eye
  • Sjögren’s syndrome
  • Corneal transplant

CONTACT LENS OPTIONS

Orthokeratology, or Ortho-K, involves the use of specially designed rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses that are worn overnight to temporarily alter the shape of the cornea.

These lenses are primarily prescribed to:
– Provide a reversible alternative to eye surgery by temporarily correcting myopia and other vision problems
– Slow down the rate of progression of childhood myopia

While a person is sleeping, Ortho-K works by gently moulding and reshaping the cornea to allow a person to see clearly when they wake up. When the lens is removed in the morning, the cornea begins to slowly return to its original shape but is still able to maintain good vision during waking hours.

Scleral lenses are large diameter rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses that are specially designed to vault over the entire cornea and rest on top of the sclera.

These lenses can help correct visual distortions by functionally replacing an irregular cornea with a smooth optical surface. The chamber between the cornea and the back surface of a scleral lens is filled with a fluid reservoir to provide adequate comfort and protects the front ocular surface from additional mechanical and environmental trauma.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses are contact lenses made out of durable plastic that sits on the cornea. RGP’s are often confused with old-fashioned polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) hard contact lenses but should be now considered obsolete due to its poor oxygen exchange and adverse effects. RGP lenses can provide better vision, durability, deposit resistance, and can be a better option than conventional soft contact lenses.
Hybrid lenses are an unique class of contact lenses comprised of two different materials – a central rigid gas permeable material and a peripheral section made of a soft or silicone hydrogel material. Hybrid lenses can provide the visual clarity of wearing gas permeable lenses with the comfort of wearing soft lenses.
Prosthetic contact lenses are more than just coloured lenses. They are often prescribed to masks ocular defects and aesthetically improve the appearance of a disfigured eye caused from a birth defect, post-surgery complication, trauma, and/or eye disease. It can also used to address ocular complications related to glare, halos, double vision and increased light sensitivity. An individual who may feel self-conscious about his or her’s ocular disfigurement can consider prosthetic lenses. These lenses can be specially designed to resemble the appearance of the unaffected eye, making it look less conspicuous, and aesthetically equivalent.