Contact Lens Institute of Houston
At the Contact Lens Institute of Houston, our motto is to exceed your expectations with quality service, innovative technology, and a friendly team to address all the vision needs for you and your family. That motto is central to our contact lens department.
Contact lenses are a great alternative to eyeglasses and permanent corrective surgery. With so many options available at the Contact Lens Institute of Houston, we are sure to find a contact lens that is perfect for you!
We excel at fitting our patients with traditional soft and hard contact lenses that treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. We have expert staff who fit a vast array of specialty contact lenses for more challenging eyes.
Scleral Contact Lenses
Have you been told that you are not a contact lens candidate due to previous ocular surgery, corneal disease, dry eyes, and/or high prescription? If you answered “yes,” consider scleral contact lenses. Scleral lenses are large diameter, rigid gas permeable contact lenses. They provide excellent comfort and vision to patients with a variety of ocular conditions including keratoconus, corneal dystrophies, dry eye syndrome, and previous corneal surgery (corneal transplants, LASIK, PRK, RK, etc.).
Scleral contact lenses rest on the sclera, which is the white part of the eye, instead of the cornea. The sclera is less sensitive than the cornea making scleral contact lenses extremely comfortable. Scleral contact lenses also create a fluid-filled vault over the cornea. This creates a perfect optical surface and much improved vision when compared to traditional soft contact lenses and spectacles. The fluid-filled vault provides excellent vision and nourishes the cornea, making scleral lenses valuable in the treatment and management of ocular surface diseases such as Dry Eye Syndrome.
Scleral contact lenses are custom made to each patient’s eyes. To ensure success it requires advanced knowledge of the fitting process. Dr. Tucker earned her Fellowship from the Scleral Lens Society which distinguishes her as an expert scleral lens fitter and patients from all over Texas travel to see Dr. Tucker for fittings.
EyePrintPro
We are very excited to be amongst a select number of specialty contact lens practitioners who offer the EyePrintPRO technology to their patients. EyePrintPRO has revolutionized the scleral lens fitting process and is considered the gold standard in scleral contact lenses. A gentle painless impression is made of the patient’s eye and is then sent off to the EyePrint Prosthetics lab to create a scleral device that is designed to match the exact contours of the eye. This technology allows for the most accurately fitted lens and most precise prescription when compared to any other lens on the market. The EyePrintPRO is ideal for challenging eyes due to advanced corneal diseases, surgeries, or conjunctival abnormalities. This device is also a great option for patients with dry eye disease and simply for those who desire the best comfort and vision from their contact lenses.
SynergEYES
SynergEyes is the exclusive manufacturer of the hybrid contact lens which consists of a rigid gas permeable center with a soft silicone hydrogel skirt. Thus, it is a hybrid of two contact lens designs. Any patient can wear this type of contact lens, but hybrids are especially beneficial to certain patients.
In our office, the most common use of this lens design is for patients who have prescriptions with a significant amount of astigmatism. These patients achieve the best vision when their lenses are perfectly stable on their eyes. This is often not the case in traditional soft contact lenses for astigmatism because many patients experience variable vision especially after a blink. Hybrid lenses, however, provide stable vision even after a blink. The rigid center of the contact lens provides a precise prescription and the soft skirt anchors the contact lens in place providing stable, clear vision throughout the day.
Another common use of the of this lens is for irregular corneas due to corneal disease and/or surgery. Basically, this lens can be used for any patient who is also a candidate for scleral lenses. In fact, it is often used as an alternative to scleral lenses. Most of the time, patients with irregular corneas have high astigmatism, thus they also benefit from the well centered, crisp optics the hybrid lens has to offer. Some patients prefer a hybrid design over a scleral lens due to the ease of insertion and removal since this process is similar to that of soft contact lenses.
Orthokeratology
Imagine perfect vision during the daytime without the need for daytime contact lenses, spectacles, or surgery! This process is called Orthokeratology or Ortho-k for short. Ortho-k is the process of temporarily reshaping the cornea, the front surface of the eye, with a specially designed rigid gas permeable contact lens. These overnight contact lenses reshape the front surface of your eyes so you can see clearly the following day after removing the contacts. Ortho-k can be used to both myopia (or nearsightedness) or mild astigmatism.
Ortho-k has been utilized by eye care professionals for decades. The specific lenses we use in our office called Paragon CRT (Corneal Refractive Therapy) lenses have been FDA approved for the treatment of myopia since 2002.
CRT lenses are a safe and effective way to treat mild to moderate myopia and astigmatism in patients of all ages. These lenses are especially beneficial for patients with an active lifestyle, patients who struggle with daytime contacts due to dryness and/or discomfort, and patients who are seeking an alternative to refractive surgery. An added benefit of Ortho-k is that it has been clinically and scientifically proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness in both pediatric and adolescent patients.
Our doctors have several years of experience, training, and certifications, allowing us to best serve our patients with specialty contact lens needs. Call us at (713) 664-8087 to schedule an orthokeratology lens fitting today!
