A specialty contact lens fitting is a process: history, measurements, trial, training, and follow-up. Here is how I run that visit in Lexington.
Patients who come in for a specialty contact lens fitting have usually already tried several soft-lens brands. The useful reset is to treat the visit as a process. History, measurements, a trial when I have one, custom manufacturing, training, and follow-up all matter. Skipping a step is how a well-designed lens still ends up in a drawer.
This is how I run that process at My Vision Care in Lexington. Exact tests vary by eye. I want you to know how to prepare and why I ask you to come back.
Step 1: History and a current exam
I start with why previous lenses failed and what the eyes need to do: night driving, computer work, sports, or full-time wear. I ask about dryness, allergies, medications, and any corneal diagnosis or surgery. A current comprehensive eye exam is part of safe contact lens care. A prescription alone is not enough if I have not seen the lids, tear film, and cornea.
Bring glasses, old contact boxes, and copies of corneal maps if another clinic has them. If the eyes are red or painful the same day, say so before I place a lens.
Step 2: Measurements and mapping
Specialty designs depend on shape, not only on power. I measure curvature, diameter, and the ocular surface. I use topography or other imaging when the cornea is irregular. Those numbers help me decide whether a custom soft lens, an RGP, a hybrid, or a scleral lens is the more reasonable first trial.
This is also when I decide whether dry eye is treated first or in parallel. I will not order a complex lens onto an untreated, inflamed surface just to “see if it helps.”
Step 3: Trial lenses and the order
When a diagnostic set is available, I place trial lenses in the office. You can judge comfort and vision before anything is ordered. I check centration, movement, clearance, and the health of the tissue under the lens. Those notes become the custom order.
Custom lenses take time to make. Plan on a later dispense visit rather than walking out with the final pair the same day. The first ordered pair is often a starting point. That is normal specialty work, not a sign the visit failed.
Step 4: Dispense, training, and follow-up
At dispense I review insertion, removal, fill solution if the lens is a scleral, disinfection, wear time, and when to stop. I do not want you leaving until you can handle the lens or we have a written plan for a training return. Follow-up checks vision, wearing time, and corneal health. Small changes in edge, power, or vault are common.
Call us for pain, marked redness, light sensitivity, discharge, or a sudden vision change. Those symptoms are not something to push through until the next scheduled check. The fitting page is the service this visit belongs to.
Who I built this visit for
This process is for people who are hard to fit, who have keratoconus or another irregular cornea, who have significant dry eye with contact lens intolerance, or who need a more stable optical surface than a disposable can provide. It is also appropriate if you simply want a clear explanation of options before ordering another year of the same soft lens.
I keep medical eye care and specialty lens work in one local office so follow-up is not a long drive for every adjustment. Saturday hours are available. See the practice page if you are new to the clinic.
How to start the fitting
Request a specialty contact lens fitting on the appointment page, through the online scheduler, or by calling or texting 859-216-2660, or email hello@myvisioncareky.com. Mention specialty contacts when you book so we set the right visit length. We are at 114 E Reynolds Rd, Lexington, KY 40517.
A webpage can explain the steps. Only the fitting can decide the lens.
