Glossary of Scleral Lens-related Terms

Contact Lens

The contact lens refer to either a soft or gas permeable lens that rests on the front surface of the eye. Many corneas with conditions such as keratoconus, post-refractive surgical complications, chronic dry eye, corneal dystrophies and disease and many other ocular conditions cannot support this type of lens. In other words, a “contact” lens has contact with the front surface of the eye, the cornea.

Cornea

The clear front surface of the eye. The cornea is to the eye what a watch crystal is to your wristwatch.

Corneal Transplant Complications

Like all invasive procedures, corneal transplant surgery does have risks. It may take up to a year for the cornea to “seat” properly. In addition during the first year after the corneal transplant surgery is done, the contour and curvature of the cornea may change. Most patients who undergo a corneal transplant will need to wear a specialty contact or scleral lens for vision and ocular comfort purposes.

Ectasia

Post-LASIK Ectasia is a devastating complication of LASIK. This complication can occur weeks to years after the LASIK surgery is done. LASIK surgery thins out the cornea, which is the front surface of the eye. Because of the thinned out cornea, the pressure within the eye against the weakened corneal “wall” can cause the cornea to “buckle” or protrude. In other words vision will become severely compromised and the cornea will become distorted. There is no surgical or medical cure to restore the cornea to it’s pre-ectasia condition. The only technology that will permit this eye to see clearly once again is a gas permeable scleral lens.

GVR Scleral lens

A GVR Scleral lens does not have contact with the front surface of the eye ( the cornea). Instead, the lens is supported by the white portion of the eye, known as the sclera. There is a space between the back surface of the scleral lens and the front surface of the eye. This space is filled with pure, unpreserved saline solution. In other words, the cornea is always in a liquid environment. We refer to our unique scleral lens as the GVR (Global Vision Rehabilitation Center) Scleral lens. This is because we design our scleral lens using proprietary software and computer imaging technology. We create the design and tell our laboratory exactly how it is to be made.

Gas Permeable Material

This is the material that our scleral lenses are made from. Oxygen from outside of the eye penetrates the scleral lens and enters to cornea. The cornea is the only tissue in our body that has no blood vessels. For this reason it is important that the correct materials are used to fabricate the lens and to design the lens so that no contact is made with the compromised cornea.

Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a protrusion and thinning of the cornea. This can occur in the center or peripheral areas of the cornea. The end result of keratoconus is blurred, distorted vision than is best corrected with a specialty contact or scleral lens. Advanced cases of keratoconus can best be corrected with gas permeable scleral lenses.

Post-Refractive Surgical Complications

This refers to the unexpected loss of vision and ocular comfort that patients who have undergone LASIK, Radial Keratotomy, PRK and other vision altering eye surgeries have experienced. These complications include double vision, glare, halos loss of vision in low light situations, fluctuating vision, vitreous floaters and chronic dry eyes. Many of these conditions can take place years after the surgery was done.

Sclera

The white portion of the eye.