Harvard Eye Associates - LASIK Orange County
LAGUNA HILLS • SAN CLEMENTE
Orange County, California
800-974-EYES (3937)
Orange County, California
800-974-EYES (3937)
Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT)
Correct your vision while you sleep with safe, non-surgical therapeutic lenses, and enjoy great vision 24 hours a day, without the hassles of glasses and daytime contacts. Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) is an ideal option for people who are not a candidate for LASIK laser vision correction because they are less than 18 years old or their vision is continuing to change.
Corneal Refractive Therapy is a non-surgical process clinically developed to reshape the cornea while you sleep. The result is the temporary correction of myopia with or without moderate astigmatism. Now you can be free of daytime contact lenses or glasses and enjoy great vision during your daily activities without undergoing surgery. Recent clinical research combined with the latest corneal surface mapping technology, computerized manufacturing and space age oxygen-breathing materials have brought new science to corneal reshaping.
Similar in appearance to standard contact lenses, CRT therapeutic lenses gently reshape the corneal surface during sleep to provide clear, natural vision when the lenses are removed upon waking. Because CRT offers freedom from glasses and the hassle of wearing contact lenses during the day, this leading-edge technology can enhance the lifestyle of those requiring vision correction. Active individuals can freely participate in sports without the interference of glasses or bothersome contacts. Eye irritation and dryness, sometimes associated with contact lens wear due to outside dust and pollutants, are also eliminated.
What is CRT?
CRT involves using a specially designed oxygen permeable therapeutic contact lens. Corneal Refractive Therapy is a sophisticated, non-surgical process, which reshapes the cornea while you sleep. You remove the lenses when you awake and are able to go throughout the day without any other correction.
How new is CRT?
Contact lens corneal reshaping utilizes recent advancements in computerized corneal mapping, computerized manufacturing, and oxygen permeable contact lens materials that produce a therapeutic contact lens design that is like no other. This has allowed CRT to become a vital corneal reshaping modality that truly stands out and the first to earn FDA approval.
Is Corneal Refractive Therapy Permanent?
No. It's temporary. If you stop wearing the lenses regularly while you sleep, your vision will return to its original state in as little as 72 hours.
Is CRT for everyone?
Not everyone benefits from CRT. This lens is designed for individuals with low to moderate myopia (nearsightedness up to –6.00 diopters) with or without astigmatism (up to –1.75 diopters). CRT therapeutic lenses are not yet available in bifocal prescriptions for presbyopia (which requires reading glasses or bifocals). At your doctor's discretion you may be fitted in a monovision mode (one eye corrected for near vision and one corrected for distance vision). You might still need reading glasses. However, since there are variations in patient physiology and visual needs, the decision for CRT, at any age, can only be made after a thorough eye exam and the recommendations of the eye care professional. At this time, hyperopia (farsightedness) is not correctable with CRT.
How long does it take to reach good vision?
Most patients have rapid improvement in the first few days of treatment and achieve nearly their optimum vision in 10 to 14 days.
How do I see adequately while I wait to achieve full treatment?
It's important to understand that for a time after you have begun treatment, but before sufficient treatment is realized, your old glasses or contacts will no longer be the appropriate prescription. It may involve insertion of your CRT lenses for part of the day or some use of temporary soft lenses in different prescriptions as an option. Your Harvard Eye Associates practitioner will discuss your options for visual correction during that transitional period of time.
Are there any risks involved with wearing CRT lenses?
There is a small risk involved when any contact lens is worn. It is not expected that the CRT lenses for contact lens Corneal Refractive Therapy will provide a risk that is greater than other contact lenses. There were no serious adverse events reported in the CRT FDA clinical study.
Can I see with my CRT lenses in?
Yes. One of the great features of the CRT lens is that if you have to get up in the middle of the night, you will be able to see where you are going. Or, if during the initial treatment phase, you find you need some form of vision correction, you can put in your CRT lenses and see clearly.
How often will I have to replace my CRT lenses?
Generally speaking the CRT lenses will have to be replaced once a year. However, depending on factors such as protein build-up, how well the lenses are taken care of, etc., the lenses may have to be replaced more frequently.
How do I care for my CRT lenses?
Your lenses should be chemically disinfected after every use (not heat). Your Harvard Eye Associates practitioner will instruct you about which care system is best for you.
Our Promise
As always, Harvard Eye is first and foremost concerned about what is best for each individual patient. Call us today for your personalized consultation!
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Harvard Eye Associates Laguna Hills Office Map and Directions 24401 Calle de la Louisa Suites 300-312 Laguna Hills, California 92653 949-951-2020 FAX: 949-356-1660 |
Harvard Eye Associates San Clemente Office Map and Directions 665 Camino de los Mares Suites 102-103 San Clemente, California 92673 949-493-5411 FAX: 949-356-1660 |
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FDA Clinical Research Study
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