Initially, Hope was referred to our office at age four by her physical therapist for treatment of some development vision deficits. She successfully completed a program of vision therapy to address these issues. Over the course of the following years, Hope’s myopia (nearsightedness) has been steadily increasing. This was naturally of concern to both the parents and Dr. Semenza. Hope also wanted to be free of wearing glasses for dance class and recitals.

After evaluation, Dr. Semenza recommended treatment with Orthokeratology (Ortho-K). This entails the use of specially designed FDA-approved therapeutic contact lenses worn while sleeping which reshapes the cornea (the clear part of the front of the eye) without permanently altering its physiology-which is important as the eyes of children and teens are still maturing. The Ortho-K lenses are worn at night and taken out in the morning. The result is clear vision the whole day. Hope went from uncorrected visual acuity of 20/400 (the big ‘E’) to 20/15. In addition, since being fitted with the Ortho-K lenses, there has been no increase in Hope’s myopia.

Hope’s Mom Tells Her Story: Hope has worn glasses since she was three years old. She loves to dance and would take off her glasses during dance class. I asked about contacts for her and Dr. Semenza mentioned Ortho-K as an option. I really did not think it would be possible to sleep in contacts and wake up with better vision, however I was wrong. She went from 20/400 to 20/15.  I was not sure that at 11 years old she would like to work with the night contacts and I was pleasantly surprised! She is so happy that she doesn’t have to wear glasses and has had such a major improvement and no issues. We would recommend these contacts to everyone!