In our February newsletter, we are emphasizing a very popular topic pertaining to a modality that changes people’s lives everyday: scleral lenses. Notably, our monthly webinar from Dr. Lynette Johns entitled “Scleral Lens Primer.” In my lifetime, I’ve never heard anyone address this topic better, and she did not disappoint. If you were not able to make the webinar, it is archived here. Dr. Johns was a long-time senior optometrist at Boston Foundation for Sight while also serving as an adjunct assistant professor in the department of specialty and advanced care at the New England College of Optometry. Most recently she has assumed the position as a research associate at the Harvard medical school department of ophthalmology. She is also co-author of the definitive text on scleral lenses: Contemporary Scleral Lenses: Theory and Application. We are also introducing a new column this month entitled “Clinical Pearls.” Maintaining the theme of scleral lenses, Dr. Matt Kauffman will share his pearls on this topic. A brief overview of our January quarterly student webinar, “Basics of Spherical Corneal GP Lens Design, Fitting, and Evaluation,” given by Dr. Marsha Malooley, will also be presented. Dr. Malooley is currently Director of Optometric Services at Chicago Cornea Consultants™ and a Diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry. Her webinar is archived here.



This month we are beginning a new column on clinical pearls to be authored by a GPLI Advisory Board member.

Matt Kauffman OD, FAAO, FSLS

Dr. Kauffman is Director of the Cornea and Contact Lens Clinic at the University of Houston College of Optometry where he is also involved in innovative clinical research pertaining to wavefront-guided scleral lens designs.

Additional time spent perfecting the scleral lens fit during the initial fitting process results in less chair time and fewer modifications and remakes later down the line.

Patients with irregular corneas may have elevated levels of higher order aberrations. Consider utilizing a wavefront aberrometer to measure residual aberrations over the scleral lens. Often vision may be improved with a sphero-cylindrical over-refraction.

Ensure patients have an adequate supply of scleral lens tools and accessories (e.g. filling solution, cleaning/disinfection solution, application/removal tools) as often these products are not easily available in local drug stores or grocery stores.

A single scleral lens design may not be ideal for every patient. Clinicians fitting scleral lenses should have at least several scleral lens design options of various parameters (e.g. diameter and geometry (prolate/oblate)).

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