LASIK Surgeon Directory > Ortho-K

Ortho-K

What is the Ortho-K Non-Surgical Procedure?

Ortho-K is defined as a procedure that involves fitting the patient with a series of rigid contact lenses in an attempt to reshape the cornea to improve vision. The last set of lenses become "retainers" that the patient wears for a limited time each day to maintain the new corneal shape. Some eye care providers use special names, such as "precise corneal molding" (PCM) or "controlled kerato-reformation" (CKR), to refer to their method of performing Ortho-K.

Published results of four controlled clinical studies conducted in the 1970’s and 1980’s showed that some contact lens wearers experienced changes in their nearsightedness after several months of contact lens wear. However, the studies show that any reduction in nearsightedness that may be achieved is temporary. In fact, the patient’s nearsightedness returns to its original level when that patient stops wearing contact lenses. It also is not possible to predict who might respond positively to this procedure and by how much. Some practitioners claim that newer techniques achieve better results than what the four studies showed.

However, there is no scientific evidence to back this up. It is very important to know that the FDA, which regulates contact lenses as medical devices, has approved only one daily wear lens for orthokeratology. There are still no lenses that have FDA approval for overnight orthokeratology.

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