Many people believe that having a crooked eye is simply a problem they will have to live with forever. In fact, an ocular prosthesis can help people with crooked eyes look and feel “normal,” and thereby help other people feel normal around them.

A common misperception about ocular prosthetics is that they are round and sit in empty ocular sockets. It is important to understand that not all prosthetic eyes are round spheres that sit in empty sockets. Most prosthetic eyes are actually more like shells (scleral shells or scleral contact lenses). Additionally, these sit on top of eyes that otherwise don’t look great, or that are healthy but have no vision. The creation of a scleral contact lens will look almost exactly like your other eye. This allows you to see through it, but which helps correct the problem of the crooked eye.

The first step in creating a scleral contact lens is to come into the office for a preliminary consultation. The ocularist will evaluate each person’s unique situation and make a recommendation as to how to proceed. The next step is to have an impression taken of the eye. The impression is much like a dental impression at an orthodontist’s office. The impression is instead via the ocular cavity and not the mouth. Many people find the impression to be the most uncomfortable part of the process. For that reason, your ocularist will walk you through how to prepare properly so that you are as comfortable as possible.

At the office of John Stolpe, the iris we create is one of the highest quality irises available. We are pioneering the manufacture of digital irises in the ocularist field. Read more about our pioneering work in manufacturing digital irises here.

Once your new piece is ready, your ocularist will work with you on how to care for it. Patients usually sleep with their pieces in. They typically only remove them a few times a year, at routine ocularist visits for professional cleaning. However, depending on your particular situation, your ocularist may create a different care regimen for you.

Staff members at the office of John Stolpe have suffered eye trauma themselves and know how difficult and embarrassing it can be to deal with a crooked eye. This empathy helps create an extremely safe and comfortable atmosphere for our patients and we pride ourselves in the highest standards of integrity, care and approachable “bedside manner.” It‘s unfortunate that many people with crooked eyes or misaligned eyes are not aware how much their lives could be improved through the kind of high quality ocular prosthetic that we create. We hope you will make an appointment to visit the office soon and learn how we can help you live a more happy, comfortable and confident life.