What Is Ortho-K?
Eye surgery fixes eye issues such as myopia or astigmatism by reshaping the cornea—commonly with a laser. But even with leaps and bounds that science has made regarding laser eye surgery, it’s still invasive, no matter how minimally. There’s healing time, and reinjury sometimes becomes easier depending on the type of surgery performed.
Ortho-k is a non-surgical treatment option that gives similar results to eye surgery, albeit not permanent, but easy to maintain. Instead of surgically reshaping the cornea, you simply wear specially fitted contact lenses while you sleep. Once you’ve arrived at the desired vision correction, you switch to a retainer lens that keeps the cornea in its shape while you sleep.
After the treatment is complete, you shouldn’t need glasses or contacts for your daily activities. However, you do need to continue wearing the retainer lenses every night, or your cornea will revert to its original state.
This treatment can be used to correct myopia and astigmatism in adults. And it’s also an approved form of myopia (nearsightedness) control in children. It has also shown promise as a way to slow the condition’s progression.
Are You a Candidate for Ortho-K?
For patients with myopia, ortho-k can work to correct vision. This treatment involves custom-designed and fitted contact lenses worn overnight to reshape the corneas and improve vision.
Children and adults alike are candidates for ortho-k. The treatment is an effective and safe way to control myopia development in adolescents. It is used successfully to slow or stop the progression of the refractive error and prevent or minimize the need for glasses or contacts later in life.
For adults already wearing corrective eyewear, ortho-k is a viable treatment that can reduce or eliminate their need for glasses or contact lenses.
If you’re still on the fence, it may be helpful to note that ortho-k is a highly successful treatment. During a study on nearly 600 eyes, the outcomes showed between 88.7% and 95.9% of the treatments resulted in the desired outcome of refraction correction.
Discuss Ortho-K With Your Optometrist
Hopefully, this article has helped dispel some things you may find online that paint ortho-k in a negative light. What was once true about the treatment is no longer true. To clear up any confusion or misconception, the best thing to do is sit with your optometrist and discuss the treatment.Because of its specialized nature, not all optometrists can prescribe and order ortho-k lenses. However, here at Dr. Zargar Eyecare, we’re happy to provide you with this eye surgery alternative. Contact us today, and the professional staff is happy to book you an appointment with Dr. Zargar to discuss your options.
