Everything You Need to Know About Scleral Lenses

What Are Scleral Contact Lenses?

Scleral contact lenses, custom-designed to fit your eye’s unique shape, are large diameter Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses that don’t touch your cornea. They rest on the conjunctiva and vault over the cornea, creating a space filled with saline solution. This eliminates poor vision caused by distorted or irregular corneas, effectively acting as an “artificial” cornea.

Who is a Good Candidate?

We recommend Scleral lenses in many situations: Irregular corneas from Keratoconus or other corneal conditions, post LASIK/PRK/RK corneas, those with chronic dry eyes, high prescriptions, or poor vision with traditional soft contact lenses.

Why Choose a Scleral Lens?

Because Scleral lenses vault over the cornea, they eliminate refractive issues caused by irregular corneas. By doing this, we can provide clearer vision to those who would otherwise have poor vision with traditional contact lenses or glasses. They are also more comfortable than soft contact lenses because the cornea is completely coated with a special saline solution during wear.

What is the Fitting Process Like?

Our office offers free consultations to established patients, where we analyze the shape of your eye’s front and fit and evaluate a Scleral lens from a fitting set. A custom lens will be created and ordered based on the assessment. Once your custom lenses arrive in 10-14 days, you’ll return for an evaluation, receive instructions on lens insertion and removal, and come back for a one-week follow-up. Further assessments and modifications may be necessary during the initial fit, with follow-up appointments scheduled at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.

What is the Vision & Comfort Like?

Scleral lenses are very comfortable on the eye. Most people find them more comfortable than soft contact lenses. Vision is generally expected to be as good or, in most cases much better, than vision in glasses or soft contact lenses. This is because the lens does not touch or interact with the cornea, allowing us to manipulate the optics of your eye by creating an “artificial surface” with the Scleral lens.