Scleral lenses, custom-fitted for your eyes right here in Roodepoort at Paul Moldovanos Optometrist
When spectacles and conventional contact lenses can no longer deliver clear, comfortable vision - for keratoconus, severe dry eye or an irregular cornea - a custom-designed scleral lens often can. We have been fitting full scleral lenses since 2013.
Where scleral lenses fit in
Contact lenses fall into two main groups — soft and hard. Understanding the difference explains why sclerals exist, and why they succeed where other lenses fail.
Soft Lenses
Mass-produced with a more or less one-size-fits-all design, soft lenses are an excellent alternative to spectacles — provided the cornea (the front surface of the eye) is healthy and smooth. When it isn't, their performance falls away.
RGP (Hard) Lenses
Rigid gas permeable lenses are custom-made for each eye and used when soft lenses and spectacles no longer improve vision — such as high prescriptions or irregular corneas. They are highly breathable, but at under 10mm they can be uncomfortable, dislodge easily and are affected by dry eyes.
Scleral Lenses
Also hard and fully custom-made, but significantly larger — vaulting over the cornea entirely and resting on the white of the eye. This single design difference resolves the three biggest drawbacks of traditional RGPs.
Every RGP weakness, solved by design
Scleral lenses were engineered to overcome exactly what makes conventional hard lenses difficult to live with.
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High comfort from day oneResting on the less sensitive white of the eye rather than the cornea, sclerals feel remarkably comfortable — even for people who couldn't tolerate RGPs.
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Rock-steady stabilityTheir large diameter keeps them firmly in place. No shifting out of position, no dislodging during sport or daily life.
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Unaffected by dry eyesFar from being compromised by dry eye, scleral lenses frequently alleviate its symptoms — bathing the cornea in fluid throughout the day.
Who are scleral lenses intended for?
Irregular Corneas
Keratoconus and corneal transplants create irregular corneal shapes that spectacles and soft lenses simply cannot correct. The majority of cases in our practice involve individuals in this category.
Severe Dry Eye Syndrome
The fluid reservoir behind a scleral lens keeps the cornea continuously hydrated — turning the lens itself into a therapeutic device.
Very High Prescriptions
Where soft contact lenses aren't manufactured in your power, and spectacles would be too thick and heavy to wear comfortably.
Contact Lens Discomfort
For individuals who have tried conventional contact lenses and simply cannot tolerate them, sclerals offer a genuinely different wearing experience.
Post-Surgical Vision
Patients requiring visual correction following eye surgical procedures, where the corneal surface has been altered.
Injury & Complex Conditions
Those affected by complications from eye injuries, or specific conditions such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
How do scleral lenses work?
A scleral lens creates a vaulted space between the lens and the cornea, filled with sterile saline solution. That fluid layer does four remarkable things at once:
By vaulting over the cornea, the lens prevents any direct contact with its sensitive surface — invaluable after surgical procedures or corneal injuries.
The liquid saline fills every gap of an irregular corneal surface, optically smoothing it out. The result: clearer, sharper vision — particularly for keratoconus and irregular astigmatism.
The saline-filled vault acts as a reservoir, delivering a continuous, consistent supply of moisture to the cornea — a genuine relief for severe dry eye.
The vaulted design, larger size and custom fit combine to deliver stability and all-day comfort that smaller lenses cannot match.
Scleral lenses by Paul Moldovanos Optometrist
Every scleral lens we fit is custom-designed for each individual eye. We prefer a full scleral design of 16.5mm to 18.5mm in diameter — as opposed to the smaller 15.5mm mini-scleral designs, which often lack limbal clearance.
"Limbal clearance is vital for the medium to long-term oxygen supply to the cornea — it's a cornerstone of how we fit."
We have been fitting scleral lenses since 2013. The fitting process does take a few appointments to finalise — precision takes time — but the results have been very successful, thanks to the comfort and superior vision sclerals offer over the alternatives.
If you are not succeeding with your current contact lenses — whether through poor vision, poor comfort, dry eye, or a combination of these — give our scleral lenses a chance.
Struggling with your current lenses? Let's talk.
A consultation is the first step towards clearer, more comfortable vision. Message us on WhatsApp for the quickest response, or book directly.
Prefer to call? +27 11 472 7430 · info@paulmoldovanos.co.za