Finally, there is an alternative to glasses and daytime contact lenses without surgery

Introducing the therapeutic iSee ortho-k contact lens, an advanced corneal refractive therapy contact lens designed to gently reshape the cornea while you sleep.

The purpose of this website is to educate potential patients about how corneal refractive therapy may help them achieve better vision through a treatment process called orthokeratology which is an effective, predictable and reproducible method to correct vision and reduce the rate of change of myopia and astigmatism.  There are several names by which orthokeratology treatment goes by such as: corneal refractive therapy (CRT® ), corneal refractive treatment, vision shaping treatment® (VST), and overnight vision correction (OVC).

Ideal Orthokeratology Candidates

• Children and adults who are active and involved in sports
• Patients looking for an alternative to lasik surgery
• Patients who are too young for lasik surgery
• Patients who want to correct their myopia without the use of traditional daytime contacts or glasses
• Children whose parents want a chance to slow and possibly prevent the progression of their myopia
• Patients who have difficulties wearing traditional contact lenses because of dry eyes or allergies

It is important to keep in mind that only a qualified licensed eye care practitioner is able to diagnose and determine the best treatment option that is right for you.

How iSee Corneal Refractive Therapy Works

iSee ortho-k overnight lenses are designed to gently reshape the first few microns of the cornea while you sleep.  Once the lenses are removed in the morning, the slight change in the curvature of the corneal surface results in clear vision during waking hours thus reducing the dependence on daytime contact lenses or glasses.

The best part about iSee ortho k lenses is that they are safe, non-surgical, non-invasive and reversible.

iSee Orthokeratology lenses for Athletes and Active lifestyles

No matter what level of sports you or your child are involved in, you want the best vision as possible.  Additionally, glasses are a hindrance for any sports enthusiast, whether professional or recreational, and traditional daytime contact lenses are often equally irritating and inconvenient.  Click here for more details

Too young or looking for an alternative to Lasik

While surgical vision correction offers the convenience of not having to wear contact lenses or glasses, it is not for everybody:

• Like any surgery, there is no guarantee of a perfect outcome with LASIK or other vision correction procedures.
• Like any surgery, there are risks of complications from LASIK and other vision correction procedures. Possible complications include glare and halos around lights, persistent dry eyes and reduced visual acuity or contrast sensitivity.
• You must be over 18 for most surgical vision correction procedures, eliminating LASIK and related surgeries as options for younger athletes.

Ortho-k, on the other hand, is safe, non-surgical, non-evasive and revesable. In fact, ortho-k is so safe that many eye care doctors are comfortable performing corneal refractive therapy for children as young as 7 or 8 years old.

Additionally, ortho-k is ideal for athletes who are too young for LASIK. Ortho-k can give them good, uncorrected vision for sports throughout their school years.

Because ortho-k is reversible, when a child reaches the age of 18, they have the option of discontinuing their treatment for awhile (allowing their nearsightedness or astigmatism to return and stabilize) and then have LASIK surgery if they no longer want to wear corneal refractive therapy lenses overnight.

Correcting Myopia (nearsightedness)

Otherwise known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, myopia is a condition in which your near vision is clear but distant objects appear blurred to an uncorrected eye.  This is due to the eyeball elongating as we grow during early adolescence.  The result is a mismatch between the length of the eye and its optical power causing light entering the eye to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it.

Using iSee Ortho-k corneal refractive therapy lenses to gently reshape the cornea re-aligns the optical focal point onto the retina allowing patients with nearsighted prescriptions see clearly all day.

Controling Myopia with Ortho-K

Myopic –  Nearsightedness Prevention

In addition to Ortho-K corneal reshaping lenses providing nearly immediate results in correcting myopia, several studies also indicate that it helps prevent myopia from worsening in future.

Traditionally, glasses and conventional daytime contact lenses have been prescribed to correct myopia.  However, for children, and many adults, this correction does not prevent their myopia from worsening over time thus requiring stronger prescription lenses to achieve the necessary level of correction.

Benefits for Nearsighted Children

Since myopia is often diagnosed at an early age and progressively worsens until late adolescence, early ortho-k treatment offers a proven, reasonable method to significantly alter the progression of myopia from increasing over time.  This is important because, if left untreated, high levels of myopia (nearsightedness) may also create increased risks for other eye diseases such as glaucoma and detached retinas.

By wearing iSee ortho-k (orthokeratology) lenses to gently reshape your corneas, you or your child now have an alternative to glasses or daytime contact lenses that may correct your myopia and prevent nearsightedness progression.

Ortho-k lenses are well tolerated by children because while their eyes are closed there is less lid sensation.  Additionally, since they will be sleeping in their lenses they will not have to wear corrective lenses during the day.  This means they can participate in a variety of activities, including sports, without worrying about glasses or contacts.

Orthokeratology Solution for Dry Eyes and Allergies

Dry eye syndrome has become increasingly prevalent over the past ten years as people spend more time indoors where air-conditioning systems remove moisture from the air. Additionally, the substantially greater time spent staring at PCs, TVs, smartphones and gaming devices reduces blink rates by up to 80% thus dramatically reducing tear flow to the surface of the eyes. Other common causes of dry eye include the aging process, wearing contact lenses, hormone levels, menopause, birth control, diabetes, environmental factors like allergies, wind, and dry climate, medications, and heavy computer usage.  Thus dry eye syndrome has become one of the most common eye health issues and led to the development of a major market for proposed remedies yet it is unclear that any one product offers the best solution.

Additionally, increasing numbers of people are affected by allergies including the seasonal effects of hay fever which can make it almost impossible to continue wearing daytime contact lenses. This is where ortho-k contact lenses for dry eyes may offer a new solution since corneal refractive therapy lenses are only worn overnight when sleeping then removed the next morning to give clear natural vision all day long.

Since ortho-k lenses are only worn at night while you sleep, dry eye and allergy sufferers may experience relief due to unrestricted tear flow during waking hours.

Additional Corneal Refractive Therapy Options for Hyperopic and Presbyopic Patients:

While iSee ortho-k corneal refractive therapy lenses are ideal for the myopic patient, they are limited for use on myopic patients only.  However, the manufacturer of the iSee Ortho-k lens (GP Specialists, Inc.) also manufactures and distributes the GOV corneal refractive therapy series of lenses.  These advanced ortho-k lenses also effectively treat patients with Hyperopia (farsightedness) and Presbyopia (the need for reading glasses).

If you have either of these conditions we may still be able to correct your vision with ortho-k.  Simply contact us and request information on a practitioner in your area.  After a thorough eye examination, your eye care practitioner will be able to outline the best options for you.

Orthokeratology Precautions

There is a small risk involved when any contact lens is worn.  It is not expected that iSee lenses for corneal refractive therapy will provide a risk that is greater than other contact lenses.  There were no serious adverse events reported to the FDA in clinical studies.

Only after a thorough eye exam by a licensed physician can it be determined if corneal refractive therapy may benefit you.  There are no guarantees that any specific treatment will work for all patients. Reduction for any individual patient’s myopia may vary depending on that patient’s corneal variables and overall results may vary so ask your doctor if iSee corneal refractive therapy is right for you or your child.