Ortho-K Lenses
Have you been told you’re not a candidate for PRK or LASIK surgery but wish to be free of eyeglasses or contacts? At Optical Expressions, we offer an advanced corneal reshaping technique called orthokeratology, or Ortho-K. This non-surgical technique can produce changes to the way your cornea refracts light.
How Your Cornea Works
To understand the benefits of Ortho-K lenses, let’s talk about how the cornea works.
The cornea is a transparent, spherical bulge that sits over the lens of your eye. In addition to protecting the inner parts of the eye, the cornea also performs some lens-like tasks of its own. The shape of the cornea causes incoming light rays to be refracted or bent in such a way that the lens can focus them into a clear, sharp image before they pass on to the retina and optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits the image to your brain.
Deformations in the shape of the cornea cause refraction to go wrong, producing the fuzzy images characteristic of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Glasses and contact lenses are curved to “pre-refract” incoming light to compensate for your degree of corneal deformation. Laser surgery corrects the shape of the cornea itself, eliminating most of all your visual errors.
Corneal Reshaping While You Sleep
At Optical Expressions, we can map the shape of your corneas precisely and then fabricate special contact lenses. Unlike standard contacts, you’ll wear these lenses at night. The Ortho K contact lens performs a subtle corneal reshaping as you sleep, meaning you can take them out the next morning and enjoy perfect or near-perfect vision.
Ortho-K can help you see clearly for one or two days at a time, or possibly even longer. By wearing the Ortho K lenses regularly at night, you can maintain your clarity of vision for as long as you decide to continue using them. If you decide to use another form of vision correction, stop wearing the Ortho-K lenses, and your corneas will assume their previous shape again. Talk to our knowledgeable staff to see whether Ortho-K makes sense for you.
Who Is Ortho-K For?
Laser surgery isn’t always the best eye care option. People who suffer from thin corneas, untreated cataracts, diabetes, certain autoimmune diseases, or a corneal disease called keratoconus should avoid laser eye surgery. Those who don’t like the idea of surgery or want a reversible procedure should explore Ortho-K as a solution.
Find Out If Ortho-K Lenses Are a Solution for You
When you visit our offices, you can expect the same level of care and friendly service. Make an appointment online today.