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Ortho-K Eye Doctor in Hoffman Estates

Dr. Ostoich has been prescribing ortho-k lenses since 1999. He has performed thousands of successful ortho-k fittings, more than any practice in the surrounding area. Book an Ortho-K consultation for $150 to start seeing your best without needing glasses or contacts during the day!

Ortho-k is a non surgical process that reshapes (flattens) the cornea using contact lenses to reduce nearsightedness and astigmatism. Ortho-k was first used over 40 years ago when hard lenses were the only materials available. A series of hard lenses were needed during daytime wear until the desired results were attained.

This often times took many months to accomplish. Accelerated ortho-keratology was started in the late 1990’s because of the availability of new rigid gas permeable materials that were approved for overnight use along with advances in computer assisted lathes and technological advances in the procedure. It is now possible to achieve reduction of a common vision disorder called myopia in a matter of days.

Since the amount of corneal flattening can be precisely controlled, it is possible to bring the eye into correct focus and correct for the refractive error. After removing the lenses the cornea maintains its flattened shape for most or all of the day. A retainer lens is then used each night to maintain the corneal flattening, otherwise the myopia will begin to revert back to its pretreatment level.

What Are Our Patients Saying About Ortho-K

How Does Ortho-k Work ?

After being fit, the ortho-k lenses will flatten the cornea by shifting the outer layer of the cornea (the epithelium) more peripherally. Since the cornea is flattened and retains the flattened curvature for a period of time it is sometimes referred to as "corneal molding". This molding is accomplished by a specially designed lens that is somewhat larger than a standard lens but not much different in appearance.

Patients usually find comfort to be initially very good and excellent after about 3 days of wear. The lens actually works as it is worn and good functional vision occurs in a few hours to a week or two depending on the initial prescription that is being corrected. The stronger the initial prescription, the longer it will take to correct. The cornea can be easily fine tuned by slight modifications to the retainer mold.

Ortho-k uses corneal topography to accurately determine the corneal shape before treatment. The topographer "maps" the surface of the eye which enables the doctor to precisely design the lens parameters. The corneal mapping by the topographer is then used to determine if the retainer lenses are correctly changing the corneal shape which will ultimately result in clear vision.

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Who Is Eligible For Ortho-K ?

Both children and adults can be treated with ortho-k since the principles of flattening the cornea is not effected by the person’s age. The most important reason for treating children is to stop or decrease the progression of myopia. Ortho-k is used to slow or stop the increase in axial length of the eye that occurs in growing children who are becoming more nearsighted on a yearly basis.

This stabilizing effect has advantages long term where a patient may be able to function when not wearing glasses or contacts and possibly being able to preserve the possibility of having refractive surgery when getting older where many patients are no longer candidates because they have become too nearsighted and are no longer eligible to have the surgery.

The second advantage for children is the ability to participate in sports without having to wear corrective eye wear. Glasses can be cumbersome when playing sports and contact lens wear is inconvenient when being around dusty environments or when swimming. There is always the risk of being hit or poked in the eye when playing sports and having the lens "pop out" and being lost.

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Ortho-k For Adults

The main reason why adults will have this procedure done is because of dry eyes and the inability to wear lenses comfortably during the day. Complaints with dry eyes vary from decreased wearing time to lenses getting cloudy and uncomfortable by days end.

Wearing lenses at night and being "contact lens free" during the day has changed many of our patient’s lives. Some adults prefer ortho-k to refractive surgery because the treatment is totally reversible. The lenses do a great job of correcting vision although discontinuing wear will always result in the patients vision going back to pre-treatment levels but no worse.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (CLICK TO SHOW EACH FAQ)

What is ortho-k?

Ortho-k is a non-surgical process of reshaping the cornea. It is done with a specialized contact lens. The objective is to decrease dependence of eyewear or contact lenses during the day.

Can ortho-k help with stabilizing children's vision?

Yes, one of the main reasons for doing ortho-k on children and teenagers is to stop or slow the progression of nearsightedness.

Can ortho-k be a benefit when playing sports?

Absolutely. The second reason for fitting younger patients with ortho-k is to allow them to be glasses/contact lens free during the day. The ability to play sports and not have to worry about losing them or getting dust in your eyes is a great advantage. Also, people love being able to swim while not having to wear contact lenses. You can open your eyes under water and be able to see and not have to worry about losing your lenses!

Will there be a need to wear glasses or contact lenses during the day?

Once the ortho-k lenses have achieved the desired amount of treatment there should not be a need to wear any corrective lenses during the day. This will be the case as long as the patient wears the retainer lenses. The amount of wear that a patient requires will vary from one person to another. Most patients will require nightly wear however some patients will require less.

Who can benefit from wearing ortho-k lenses?

Ortho-k works best on people with nearsightedness and/or slight amounts of astigmatism. We can generally treat up to 5 diopters of nearsightedness and up to 1 diopter of astigmatism. Depending on the patients corneal curvatures those parameters may be able to be slightly expanded.

Is this a new procedure?

Although this procedure has been done since the early 1960’s, the procedure today is much different. Lens materials available today allow us to safely fit lenses that can be worn overnight. Oxygen permeability exceeds even that of soft lenses. Corneal topography has the ability to map the cornea and make the designing of ortho-k lenses a precise treatment.

Is ortho-k safe?

Ortho-k has been show to be a very safe treatment although as with all contact lenses proper care must be taken to maintain eye health. Also, remember that ortho-k is a totally reversible procedure. There are no permanent effects. If a patient discontinues wear, the corneas will revert back to their pre-treatment curvatures.

How long will it take for my eyes to be treated and have good vision?

In most cases, good functional vision should be achieved within days to a week. In some cases where lenses need to be modified, it may take slightly longer.

Can ortho-k be done on a post LASIK or RK patient?

Yes, in many cases ortho-k can help with correcting refractive error left from lasik or RK.

Is ortho-k permanent?

After treatment and maximum results are achieved, retainer lenses are worn to maintain the new corneal curvature. Failure to wear the retainer lenses on an ongoing basis will result in the corneas returning to their pre-treatment curvature and pre-treatment prescription.

Why haven’t I heard about ortho-k?

We get asked this question daily! The facts are 85% of patients are now wearing soft contact lenses. Very few doctors prescribing contact lenses fit rigid gas permeable contacts in today’s practices. Although it is unfortunate, most doctors are not trained to fit rigid gas permeable lenses when being trained in school. In order to fit ortho-k lenses, the doctor must first be proficient in fitting less demanding rigid gas permeable lenses.

As one becomes skilled in fitting easier designs, the practitioner can then progress to more difficult type fittings. Ortho-k requires more skill and experience than almost any other lens that it fit today. Therefore, there are only a few doctors performing this procedure.

Can I see with the Ortho K contacts in?

Yes, one of the benefits of Ortho K lenses is that if you have to get up in the middle of the night, you will be able to see.

Eye Exam, Myopia Control in Hoffman Estates, IL
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