How long is the process of fitting scleral contact lenses?

I like to tell my patients that fitting scleral contact lenses is not magic. So do not expect that the first set of lenses that I put on your eyes will be the perfect ones already.

What to expect at your appointment for scleral contact lens fitting? If you do not have your corneal topography results with you yet, your optometrist may want you to have it done. This is not a must in scleral contact lens fitting, however, this can give a good picture of your condition's status---I definitely ask my patients to get one. Depending on your case, more scans can be done which can aid the optometrist in getting the best fit for you.

Expect to have different lenses placed on your eye. Most of the time, this will involve a green dye which will be placed on the contact lenses so the optometrist can evaluate the way the contact lens rests on your cornea. Your vision will be tested as well. It never ceased to amaze me though that just when my patients have resigned and accepted that their vision is failing them because they cannot see well with their eyeglasses, they get surprised that they can now see not only 2, 3, 4 lines down the test chart, but they may even see down in the 6,7 to 8th line-- the 8th line is equivalent to what you know as 20/20. Indeed these plastics are magical in such a way that they allow you to see what you thought was impossible already for you to see.

After finalising the size of your lenses, they will be customised. This usually takes 2-3 weeks. Depending on your condition, you may have the perfect lens already with the first fitting. But most of the time, expect that your lenses can be tweaked and changed for a couple more times before the optometrist can truly be satisfied with the fit. That's why I tell patients that they got to have patience, we are working on such an irregular corneal surface that we need to make sure that we give you good functional vision while respecting your cornea. Imagine your cornea to have hills and valleys and the contact lens as a big dome, you simply cannot just put any dome over it without touching some of the hills.

So when you plan to have your scleral lens appointment, do not fill your day with other appointments anymore so you will not be rushing from one schedule to another.

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