Two Lasiks over Two RKs. From 20/800 to 20/20 with GVR Scleral Lens

The images below are of the same eye that underwent 2 separate Radial Keratotomy surgeries in the 1980’s followed by 2 separate LASIK surgeries about 15 years ago. The first is a photo showing the open RK incisions which look like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. The circular line going around the edge of the cornea is the LASIK flap border. A special dye and filter were used to highlight the corneal defects and make them more visible. These open wounds are permanent and will never close. The 2nd image was taken with a technology known as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This image shows a cross section of the cornea with a scleral lens over it. The 2 curved lines at the top of this image represent the front and back surfaces of the scleral lens. The thick grey irregular structure is the cornea. Look carefully to the right side of this image and you can see the deep, wide open RK incision just below the scleral lens. The last image is a 3-D computer generated image that shows the irregularity of the corneal surface. The red colors represent steep elevations along the corneal surface while the green and blue areas represent corneal depressions. The scleral lens replaces the irregular cornea as an optical surface. In other words, the scleral lens makes the elevations and depressions along the corneal surface irrelevant. This patient is able to see clearly (20/20) and without distortions with the scleral lens in place. Without the scleral lens this patient’s visual acuity is less than 20/800 and cannot be corrected with eyeglasses or conventional contact lenses.