Overnight Corneal Reshaping (AKA Ortho-K)
If you’ve been searching for a way to correct your vision without daytime contact lenses or glasses, Overnight Corneal Reshaping, also known as OCR or Ortho-K (meaning Orthokeratology) is the way to go!
This FDA-approved method from Brill Eye Center painlessly reshapes your cornea while you sleep. Our precise process combined with advanced technology has brought noticeable improvements to hundreds of patients in the Kansas City area and around the country, including both of Dr. Brill’s sons.
See if You're a Candidate for Ortho-K
How it Works
- We determine your optical correction by the shape of your cornea—the crystal clear membrane that covers the colored part of the eye called the iris—as well as the axial (front to back) length of the eye. Longer eyes are nearsighted (myopic) and shorter eyes are hyperopic (farsighted).
- If they are too long or too short, the light will not focus on the back of the eye (retina). If your cornea’s shape is like the back of a spoon, you have astigmatism. By normalizing the shape of the cornea, we focus light where it should be to achieve clear vision.
- The difference with our Ortho-K treatment in Kansas City compared to LASIK is that it’s non-surgical and reversible at any time in case you change your mind. LASIK, however, is a permanent lifelong change. This means that you would have to live with your results, good or bad. Reversibility and flexibility are the hallmarks of OCR/Ortho-K.
- With Ortho-K, you will receive customized corneal reshaping contact lenses made just for you with sub-micron (a thousandth of a millimeter) level accuracy. What makes the treatment unique is how easy they are to use. Ortho-K will reshape your cornea and correct your vision every night while you sleep
- You will no longer need to wear daytime contacts or glasses. Apply these comfortable lenses right before you go to sleep and wake up with clear vision all day. You can stop the reshaping process at any time, making them a great alternative to more permanent measures like LASIK surgery.
- Also, this treatment helps prevent or slow regression in the eyes. This is very important for children who are predetermined to get high amounts of myopia from genetics.
- Myopia degeneration leads to glaucoma, retinal detachment and macular degeneration due to the advanced stretching of the retina over time. These diseases are major causes of vision loss globally.
Our Process
Using an advanced video-scanning device like the Medmont Meridia corneal topographer makes extremely accurate measurements possible. Once the cornea is “mapped”, the design of the lenses can get underway. A sophisticated, computer-aided design process ensures proper fitting. We then apply lenses to the eyes in the office to accomplish the clinical evaluation during a two-hour diagnostic fitting appointment. The corneal reshaping process starts immediately. Often, patients can see an immediate partial improvement in vision by the end of that appointment. Based on the outcome of the demonstration, new lenses will be designed and ordered. If everything looks perfect, we may even dispense them the same day. Brill Eye Center stocks hundreds of these lenses in inventory of several manufacturers. This makes the process easier for patients who travel from far away to seek specialty Ortho-K treatments in Kansas City. If the lenses are not in stock, they will be manufactured in a lab that uses computer-numeric controlled (CNC) lathes.
- You’ll no longer need daytime glasses or contacts. It is a worthwhile goal to prevent the strengthening of your prescription. The pathology of high myopia includes glaucoma, retinal detachment, and macular degeneration. These diseases are major causes of vision loss.
- Just put in your contacts every night before bed and enjoy 20/20 or better vision the next day.
- Some patients with milder corrections can even wear their lenses every other night.
- With Ortho-K, you can stop wearing the lenses and return to your pre-treatment vision any time.
- Patients can take advantage of new technology as it becomes available.
- Unlike LASIK, you can change your mind and return to pre-treatment measurements. Lasik is a lifetime decision that cannot be reversed.
- Overnight Corneal Reshaping lenses reduce your risk of infection, disabling glare, or Dry Eye compared to LASIK.
- Many patients qualify for this treatment and there are no age restrictions.
- We often can prevent myopia progression starting with pre-school children.
- Treatment has been FDA-approved since 2002
- Hundreds of patients have benefited from the specialized care available at Brill Eye Center.
Before we can recommend Overnight Corneal Reshaping Treatment, Brill Eye Center will need to perform a comprehensive evaluation at our office in the Kansas City metro.
During this evaluation, we’ll find out about the family history of refractive error. We can relay your risk factors about developing high amounts of myopia to prevent the resulted sequelae of retinal problems and vision loss.
If the patient is a suitable candidate, we will discuss everything necessary to achieve success of myopia control and prevention. Not everyone makes a suitable candidate, believe it or not. If you are, we will continue with the next phase of the process.
Although many people are candidates, the ones that benefit the most are those with mild to moderate myopia or hyperopia. Dr. Brill will qualify you for the procedure and let you know if there are more appropriate designs for the best possible outcome.
Other suitable candidates are people with active lifestyles or those who are outdoors frequently. Those with Dry Eye or allergies who prefer not to wear glasses or contact lenses can also benefit.
What also makes Overnight Corneal Reshaping great is that younger patients can benefit as well. Refractive surgeries like LASIK have an age restriction of 21 or older, whereas Overnight Corneal Reshaping has no age restriction.
For over 38 years, Brill Eye Center has remained at the forefront of innovative eye care. Our wealth of experience, combined with advanced technology and personalized care, allows for a rewarding experience that produces lasting results for our patients. We pride ourselves on putting the “I care” back in eye care, and we won’t rest until you’ve achieved your ideal visual outcome.
If you have bifocals or astigmatism, Overnight Corneal Reshaping can still work for you! Dr. Brill will craft unique lenses to help correct your vision.
To properly reshape your cornea, you will apply the lenses right before you go to bed. Six to eight hours of restful sleep will help to allow the reshaping to hold. When you wake up, you can immediately remove the lenses, and you’ll be able to see without corrective eyewear like glasses or contacts all day long!
Patients can still maintain healthy corneas after sleeping in Ortho-K lenses, provided you have appropriate fitting lenses. This is due to polymer chemistry advancements of these high-tech plastics, which allow materials to permit a sufficient amount of oxygen to transfer through the lenses without causing corneal damage.
Old types of lenses, now referred to as “hard” lenses, are no longer used as they did not permit enough oxygen to allow the cornea to breathe properly.
The cost of corneal reshaping depends on the individual. However, lenses are usually 50% the cost of LASIK surgery, or about $1,600-$3,500. LASIK, on the other hand, can cost anywhere from $4,000-$7,000.
No, not any eye doctor can prescribe OCR Lenses. They must be certified and credentialed to fit each brand of lenses. The Fellow of the Orthokeratology Academy of America (FOAA) distinction from the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control validates that your doctor has met additional rigors of testing in addition to the Doctor of Optometry, O.D. degree.
Schedule Your Ortho-K Treatment at Brill Eye Center
If you’re ready to get lasting relief for your eye issues, schedule an appointment today and join the thousands of people across Missouri and Kansas who’ve regained their lives with our cutting-edge treatments. From Kansas City to Topeka, to Wichita and Manhattan, and everywhere in between, we’re here to serve you.