scleral lens by maxim

The life changing contact lens for corneal distortions such as:

Keratoconus

Post RK (radial keratotomy)

Pellucid Marginal Degeneration

Post Lasik Ectasia

Corneal Trauma

Post Corneal Transplants

Severe Dry Eyes
   The Scleral Lenses Solution  -  Maxim Scleral Lens
scleral lens
 
The white part of the eye is called the sclera and these lenses are designed to vault the cornea and be supported by the sclera with a fluid reservoir between the cornea and the contact lens. The smallest of these lenses will cover the entire colored part of the eye and will then extend a small amount onto the white part of the eye. The largest of these lenses will continue to extend onto the white of the eye so that every part of the eye that is showing, and even some parts that are hidden by the lids, will be covered by this lens.

Only the more oxygen-porous gas permeable materials are used to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen for the cornea. Handling the lenses is rather easy since they are so large, but application and removal of the lenses to and from the eye can be a bit trickier than conventional contact lens designs. The materials chosen are generally clear. This is because a lens with color will show on the white part of the eye which for most people is cosmetically undesirable.

The fitting process as well as the manufacturing process is quite a bit more challenging with this class of lenses. This fact along with the fact that mass-production of these types of lenses is not possible, means that their costs can be significantly higher than the traditional contact lenses of today. There is also more time required when fitting them. This means more time for the physician, more time for the patient, and more time for the laboratory actually manufacturing the product.
scleral lens 
Due to all of the above reasons, scleral lenses are not utilized in a routine fashion. These very unique products however, do have their place. For corneas that have become irregular, scleral lenses can sometimes outperform other types of contact lenses. An irregular cornea can be the result of a disease such as Keratoconus, corneal trauma, corneal transplant, and more recently refractive surgery. In many cases, the irregular cornea prevents the proper positioning of a corneal lens but a scleral lens can seat itself properly on the sclera and therefore be in the correct position on the cornea. The vision with a scleral lens as well as the other gas permeable corneal lenses can be vastly superior to glasses or soft contact lenses when considering irregular corneas. These lenses provide the optical system a new surface that provides great vision while neutralizing all of the irregular optics of the underlying cornea. For many people with irregularly shaped corneas, these types of lenses provide the only form of usable vision correction.

Additionally, scleral lenses can address many contact lens failures that were secondary to dryness. Since the scleral lenses are so large, there forms a tear reservoir under the lens that can keep the cornea properly moist. Foreign matter and debris also have a very difficult time finding their way underneath one of these lenses. This fact can be the single entity that allows this lens success while other contact lenses fail.

Whenever I show a scleral lens to a patient for the first time the patient’s reactions are almost always the same. The comment is always something to the effect “Are you planning on putting that huge thing in my eye?!” This is followed with “How much is it going to hurt?” The surprising and good news is that the scleral lenses are extremely comfortable right from the beginning. Due to their size, contour, and limited movement, there is actually very little sensation at all.
Although scleral lenses will clearly not become the lens that dominates the contact lens market, when the need is there, this lens can often solve problems that are unsolvable through any other means. The scleral lens will continue to serve a unique role for some very unique situations. 
 
 
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Vision Plus
792 South US Highway 1
Vero Beach, FL 32962
(772) 770-2020
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Vision Plus - Vero 792 S. Federal Hwy. Vero Beach, FL 32962 Phone: (772) 770-2020 Fax: (772) 770-4617

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