Corneal Reshaping

The cornea is the clear front part of the eye and is responsible for presenting an image of an object in space to the sensory retina. It can accomplish this because of its specific curvature which bends light as it passes through, which brings the image to pinpoint precision on the retina.

The Problem

If the cornea is not shaped perfectly, light will not reach the retina in focus. If the corneal surface is curved too much (too steep), it will focus the image before the retina which will result in nearsightedness. If the corneal surface does not curve enough (too flat), it will focus the image after the retina which will result in farsightedness. It some cases, the cornea does not assume a spherical curve (it is bent), and the image does not come into a focus at all which results in astigmatism.

The Solution

If we can take an imperfectly curved cornea and reshape it, it stands to reason that we can change where the image is focused. If we can do this in a controlled manner, we can get the image to focus on the retina, and improve clarity and quality of vision. That’s the process behind corneal reshaping, also called orthokeratology. It’s the same science and principle that gives refractive surgery the potential to change a patient’s uncorrected vision so drastically, but corneal reshaping is done non-surgically.
The process involves fitting a qualified candidate with a very specifically curved rigid gas permeable contact lens that they wear during sleeping hours. The lens design is different for each patient, dictated by the patient’s prescription and unique corneal topography (corneal shape). When fit correctly, the patient removes the customized contact lens upon awakening, and the cornea assumes the position enhanced by the shape of the contact lens that they wear each night. This new corneal shape results in improved uncorrected visual acuity, and in many cases eliminates the need for eyeglass correction or daytime contact lens wear. Corneal reshaping has made imperfect vision significantly and dramatically better for many of our patients. It has broadened career opportunities for athletes, pilots, and law enforcement, and enhanced the lives of 7-year-olds to grandmothers.

Our Advantage

What used to take a year or more of exhaustive office visits and multiple lenses as the cornea was fine tuned over time, is now often done with one lens, like the Paragon CRT, that takes a patient from start to finish. Patients see dramatic improvements even on the first day after lens wear.