Specialty Contacts

Scleral Contact Lenses

A new trend in fitting irregular corneas has emerged over the past few years - scleral contact lenses.

While scleral contact lenses have been around for about 125 years, they have reemerged as a newly improved treatment option for corrective lens-wearing patients. A scleral lens is a relatively large lens that is supported by the sclera (the white portion of the eye) and creates a tear-filled vault over the cornea.

Scleral lenses are made of an oxygen permeable polymer and treat a variety of eye conditions that often fail to respond to other forms of treatment. Scleral contact lenses offer many advantages over traditional contact lenses, including improved comfort and a lower likelihood of the lens unexpectedly popping out of the eye. Scleral lenses are used for contact lens intolerant patients, dry eye patients, and patients with other corneal disorders.

Scleral contact lenses are often extremely effective for patients with varying degrees of keratoconus. Although many keratoconus patients will ultimately need a corneal transplant, scleral contact lenses can often prevent the need for surgical intervention.