OrthokeratologyIf you are looking to see clearly during waking hours without wearing glasses or contact lenses, you may be interested in Orthokeratology, or more commonly known as “ortho-k”. Ortho-K involves temporarily reshaping the cornea through the use of specialized contact lenses. Once the lenses are fit, you wear them nightly as you sleep. They act as a retaining system so you can see clearly during the day without traditional glasses,  contact lenses or refractive surgery.

Orthokeratology is also used for slowing the progression of myopia (nearsightedness).

Learn more about The Myopia Epidemic here.

 

CRAYON Clinical Study

“Corneal Reshaping and Yearly Observation of Nearsightedness”

The Corneal Reshaping and Yearly Observation of Nearsightedness (CRAYON) study of two years confirmed corneal reshaping can slow eye growth in myopic children after one year of treatment.  Researchers also confirmed that patients who were fitted with corneal reshaping lenses experienced significantly less annual change in axial lenngth and vitreous chamber depth than patients fitted with soft contact lenses.

Source: Walline JJ, Jones LA, Sinnott LT.  Corneal Reshaping and Myopia Progression.  Br J Ophthalmol. 2009 Sep;93(9):1181-5

SMART Clinical Study

“Stabilizing Myopia by Accelerated Reshaping Technique”

SMART, a five-year study initiated in 2009, is currently evaluating the effect of corneal reshaping on myopia progression in 138 patients.  At one-year follow up, subjects wearing corneal reshaping lenses exhibited a mean progression of 0.00D, compared to an average of 0.50D in the control group.  The SMART study revealed in 2011 at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada (GSLS), that both the test group and the control group of soft contact lens wearers had the same safety findings.

Source:  Daniels K. Consider OrthoK for Myopia Control.  Review of Optometry.  2012 July 15.

 

If you have more questions about orthokeratology or would like to see if it might be the right path for you, call the office or schedule an eye exam with Dr. Jon Wieringa today.