The Following patent was referred to Pieterse Optometrist and presented with severe dry eye syndrome due to the surgical removal of her main tear gland called the Lacrimal gland. The absence of the lacrimal tear gland creates a problem since the lubricating tears are essential for good ocular health, a smooth corneal surface and clear vision.
The patient has been suffering from severe dry eye for the last year and had to insert lubrication drops every half an hour. The eye specialist Dr Grobbelaar referred the patient for an alternative option of scleral lens fitting since the convention treatment options were not effective enough to address the problem. Similar problems of Dry eye are often seen with Sjogren’s syndrome (absence of tear production), Rheumatoid arthritis or post surgical complication such as Lasik eye surgery.
We fitted the patient with an advanced Dual saggital height toric scleral lens to assist with treatment and management of the severe dry eye. The scleral lens creates a unique environment where there is a constant reservoir of tears over the eye, protected from fiction of the eye lids and gives great vision.
The following photos shows how the corneal surface can be affected by dry eye and also shows the lens on the eye (a flourosceine drop inserted glows and shows the lens on the eye). We prefer a slightly larger lens to cover more ocular surface. Without the lens on the eye, the patient had significant ocular inflammation and quick evaporation of the tears. The patient also mastered the insertion technique within 15 minutes and can now wear the lens comfortable for 12 hours a day since the comfort of scleral lenses are similar to toric soft contact lenses.
We are excited about the much improved result, making the scleral lens an effective solution to severe dry eye caused by Rheumatoid arthritis or post corneal surgery complications. She can now play golf and do other functional tasks easily and reduced the ocular drop insertion from twice hourly to only 4 times per day with the lens on the eye.
