Superior Pellucid Marginal Degeneration. Now 20/20 with GVR Scleral Lens

This is a photo of Dr. Jyotsna (“Jo”) Maram with our special patient, Ivan. Before receiving her doctorate degree, Dr. Maram did a 3 month specialty lens externship in our office. Our patient Ivan has a very rare condition known as “Superior Pellucid Marginal Degeneration”. This is a condition where the upper half of the cornea protrudes and is highly distorted. We first met Ivan about 8 years ago. Prior to visiting us, Ivan traveled throughout the United States seeking vision improvement at a number of world famous eye institutions. The doctors at these eye institutions told Ivan that the only way for him to regain quality vision once again was for him to undergo corneal transplant surgery in both eyes. When we first met Ivan, his visual acuity was less than 20/800. Eyeglasses, soft contact lenses and gas permeable contact lenses were unable to provide either comfort or functional vision. 8 years ago we fit Ivan with GVR Scleral lenses which provided him (for the first time in many years) with clear (20/20) comfortable vision. Since his first visit, Ivan has visited us yearly for his eye and scleral lens examinations. Over the last 8 years, we have only had to make one minor change to Ivan’s scleral lenses as his corneas have remained stable.The 2nd photo below is a profile view of Ivan’s left cornea. Both corneas have the same appearance. Notice how pronounced the upper half of this cornea is. Ivan will be able to wear his scleral lenses for many years and will never need to undergo corneal transplant surgery.