Here at Olympic Village Eye Care we will be providing a very exciting treatment called Orthokeratology or Ortho-K for short. This procedure is the fitting of specially designed, gas permeable contact lenses that you wear overnight. During the time you are asleep, the lenses gently reshape the cornea (front surface of your eye) so you are able to see clearly the next day without the use of daytime contacts or glasses.

To determine whether you are a good candidate or not, the doctor will need to perform a comprehensive eye exam and take a corneal map with a machine called a Corneal Topographer. The procedure is painless and takes about a minute; the machine takes a topographical map of your eye’s surface.

There are two reasons why Ortho-K is prescribed:

1. To slow down the progression of childhood myopia.  Several research studies showed the progression of nearsightedness among children wearing ortho-k lenses for myopia control was roughly half that of those who received no myopia control treatment over a two-year period.  In other words, even if orthokeratology is discontinued after several years, the amount of myopia that returns tends to be less severe than what the person would be expected to have if they had worn eyeglasses or regular contact lenses as a child rather than wearing the ortho-k lenses.

2. To correct refractive errors (mainly nearsightedness, but also astigmatism and hyperopia). Ortho-K can also be prescribed to correct presbyopia in some cases. Most patients with mild to moderate myopia (with or without mild astigmatism) are good candidates for Ortho-K. Since the corneal reshaping effect is only temporary, little risk is involved and if you feel the treatment is not right for you, you can discontinue use anytime.

Children and young adults who do not want to wear glasses but are too young for laser eye surgery or are not good candidates for other types of surgery (for example, have dry eyes) are often better candidates for Ortho-K. This treatment is also a good option for people who participate in sports or work in dusty environments as contact lenses can pose problems for these types of activities.

Call us at 604-671-0690 or Email us to inquire if this is the right procedure for you.