Orthokeratology Rapid Vision Improvement Without Surgury

[Myoptic33]

http://www.eyefreedom.com/ortho.asp


Hi, I did some research and stumbled onto this. What exactly is this? A series of contacts that improve your vision over a week to reduce your dependancy on glasses? Looks like a good alternative to lasik or Intacs me thinks. I am about -4.5(right) -5(left) and I realize I may only a partial improvement but then I wont need glasses around the house and using the computer, just outside for looking into the distance. I heard it can cost as much as $500, is this right? Regular contacts tend to dry my eyes but I can tolerate em for a few hours a day, this is all you need to wear the contacts to improve your vision anyhow. I think say 4 hours a day of contacts for a month is a great tradeoff to wearing glasses far less than the 16 hours a day im awake.

[Jacqui]

Right...and I've got some swamp ground I'd like to sell you.

[Judy Canty]

Ortho-K is not new, and in many cases it does work quite well.

[Jedi]

With Ortho-K you wear the lenses overnight.The top layer of the cornea is shifted while wearing these lenses changing the refractive properties. Keep in mind this layer is very thin so full correction over a -3.00 is not common.

[chip anderson]

Not that the top layer is shifted. Suspect certian areas are swollen and others have the cells depressed. May or may not be a good thing over the long term.

[Jedi]

I should also state that the tear film between the lens and cornea aids in the correction. This is the supplier we used when I was with an OD.Ortho K

[OPTIDONN]

You might also be interested in corneal refractive therapy. Its pretty close to Ortho-K. Might be an option.

[Myoptic33]

Right...and I've got some swamp ground I'd like to sell you.

My mom also feels the same way, she thinks it wont really improve your vision otherwise millions would be trying OK instead of risky lasik. She also thinks ill give up Ok after a week or two and waste the $. From what I read they say it can improve as much as -5 diopters. She says bah its a gimmic and the reason why millions dont try that instead of glasses. I could try it but its expensive and I dont know how much ill improve my vision for how long. Dad says itll improve mine slightly, oh say 20/200 instead of 20/400 for a few hours before it wears off.


"Keep in mind this layer is very thin so full correction over a -3.00 is not common."


This means I could improve to perhaps 20/100. Not that great but ill only need glasses part time then and wont need glasses for being able to read text on the monitor anymore


"You might also be interested in corneal refractive therapy. Its pretty close to Ortho-K. Might be an option."


do tell more!

[Aarlan]

Ortho-K seems to me to be akin to wanting my 36 inch waistline to become 32 inches, So I just squeeze my belt tighter...Voila! just push the excess up and down...

Sure it works temporarily, but long term, you have to fix the underlying causes (corneal curvature with ref surg), or live with it the way it is (specs or CTLs).


AA

[Myoptic33]

I agree and I know its not a real solution, but isnt so glasses and contacts? In my view, I consider ortho-k akin to contact lenses in reverse where you remove them to see better and you wear ortho-k at night and remove them in the morning where regular contacts get inserted at morning and removed at night. The reason why ortho-k may appeal to me and others is regular contacts dry their eyes and also irriates them. With ortho-k your eyes are closed and asleep so you may not even feel it and time passes fast when you are sleeping. My parents think its a gimmic though. How long does ortho-k last really before your vision begins to regress? How long does it take to achieve maxium correction?

[wmcdonald]

Advanced Ortho K

Many seem to pontificate loudly without knowing a thing about the subject matter. As a former consultant for Paragon's CRT program, I can assure you that it works quite well! And it corrects well beyond -3.00. The devices only utilize approximately 6 microns of epithelial thickness to affect a 1 Diopter shift, which is around 50% of the tk required in lasik surgery. While it is true it is only temporary, so are braces. You must remove your braces when they have reached their maximum effect, and then wear retainers to maintain straight teeth. Do you feel that is a gimmic as well? CRT, BE, Emerald, Contex OK, Dreimlens, and others yet to come do a great job for those who do not wish to have lasik or some other corneal procedure done. It has been proven safe and effective, and one key element, REVERSABLE. If you don't want to continue, don't use the devices and the cornea will return to its original form. I hope you will look further into the subject before you continue to trash it.......it works and is a great alternative to surgery for those who wish to do without spectacles or contact lenses during the day. It is one more tool in the tool box to assist patients in achieving their optimal vision correction. If you do have patients who want this type of corrective device, please make certain you refer to someone experienced. Accurate fitting is the key to success as I have seen hundreds of times. Just a small error in fitting can make or break a case.

[chip anderson]

Honor thy Father and thy Mother. When you get old enough to the point where you no longer need thier approval or financing there will be plenty of time to worry about such things.


Chip

[dlongod]

wmcdonald...I totally agree with you. I have been performing CRT for over a year now with great success. Over 90% of my patients are able to achieve 20/20. It is a great procedure...especially for individuals under 18 because most surgeons will not do LASIK on anyone <18. My advice is to learn as much about all of your options so you can make the best decision for yourself...and definitely keep CRT in mind!

[Myoptic33]

Donald, how much can ortho-k correct then? I have looked it up on the net and they say its for myopes up to -5 or -6 and one website says it will correct more than -3 but not fully. If you are say -5.5 you may become -1 to -1.5 left

Ok heres the link on the website I found:


http://www.drtuckerandassociates.com/orthok/chap9.html


Severe myopia may be defined as unaided acuity worse than 20/300. The results with ortho-k for severe myopia can range from 20/50 to 20/200 unaided vision acuity. This is significant improvement and can allow the patient to be free of contact lenses or glasses for many activities. More retainer lens wear is necessary in this case.


I am about -5 and about 20/500 id guess. The 20/400 is very hard to see in the day and I cant see it at night. Ill be happy to achieve 20/100 vision this will greatly reduce my dependance on glasses and I wont be needing glasses except when I drive and maybe sometimes when I go shopping or out places. I do not mind not having a full correction as I do not want to have to need reading glasses. That and I dont know if its good for the cornea to have such a great amount of cells moved.


As for ortho-k being a gimmic, I didnt say that, I mentioned that my parents do, especially my mom. She says why do people go out and get lasik if ortho-k works just as well, is cheaper, safer and has no permaent effects in case you arent happy? She also says it only lasts a couple hours then your vision begins to get blurry again. I told her how would she know, shes not a doctor! I also told my mom that people looking for lasik dont want glasses or contact lenses, period! I realize ortho-k is similar to contacts but I cant tolerate contacts for 12 hours! I can wear ortho-k at night where I wont feel it. If the optometrist says I have to wear it durning the day too then forget it I might just as well wear contacts a few hours then take them off when they begin to bother my eyes too much.

As for fitting, how tricky is this? what if my optometrist doesnt fit it right? Does ortho-k come with a guranty if it doesnt correct enough of my myopia, say I cant see 20/100, get induced astigmistim, discomfort, and of course night vision problems due to my huge 8mm+ dilated pupils?


Dlongod, thanks for your response. I dont think lasik will work too well due to my huge 8mm+ pupils, mildly dry eyes and me having some presbyopia. I would just need reading glasses for reading and eating and as I get older, for the computer too. Does anyone know if ortho-k has a pupil requirement? I know contact lenses are like 14mm so they are much larger than my pupils but ortho-k pushes cells from the center to the side of your cornea. What if my pupil dilates so it covers the side cells? Also can you or anyone tell if theres any major risks wearing ortho-k while sleeping and longterm risks? I read a website of one optometrist bashing ortho-k saying it will permaently deform your cornea and just "mess it up" after prolonged use of ortho-k and if you were to go back to glasses your BCVA wont be as good.

[chip anderson]

Bad news. Folks that see 20/100 are quite dependent on glasses full time except when looking for zits in the mirror. Effective good vision about 2.5 feet.