If you have keratoconus, a corneal scar, severe dry eye, post-LASIK irregularity, or a prescription that's never quite worked in regular contacts — you probably need more than what's stocked off the shelf. Specialty lenses are a different conversation. The goal isn't just sharper vision (though that usually happens too); it's getting your eyes to actually tolerate contacts comfortably, often for the first time.

When standard contacts stop working.

Most patients do well in soft daily disposables. But certain corneas don't behave the way standard lenses expect. The eye may be too steep, too irregular, too dry, or too sensitive. Sometimes a high prescription causes the lens to flex and shift. Sometimes the cornea has been changed by surgery, an injury, or a condition like keratoconus that progresses slowly over years. In those cases, an off-the-shelf contact lens is fighting the eye, not working with it.

That's where a specialty lens fit comes in.

Why we fit eyes other practices can't.

Dr. Karres developed a focus on specialty contact lens fitting during his training at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, with research interests focused on scleral lens solutions. He continues to fit patients who've been told elsewhere that "your eyes are too complicated for contacts" — which is rarely the whole truth. There's often a lens design that fits. Finding it takes the right tools and the patience to dial it in.

We work with custom labs and use detailed corneal mapping (topography) to design lenses around your eye, not the other way around.

Dr. Karres fits the cases other offices send away, from custom soft and gas permeable lenses to sclerals for keratoconus and irregular corneas, with research interests focused on scleral lens solutions. If you've been told your eyes are too complicated for contacts, the right lens design usually exists. Finding it takes the right tools and the patience to dial it in.

What we fit.

The right specialty lens depends on your cornea, your prescription, and what you've already tried. We fit five categories of specialty lenses — and the decision of which to use starts with corneal topography, not a catalog.

Made specifically for one patient — different curvature, thickness, or material than anything stocked. Often the right answer for moderate corneal irregularity or high prescriptions where standard soft lenses won't sit still.

GP lenses can provide some of the sharpest optics available, especially for irregular corneas and high astigmatism. The rigid lens plus the tear film behind it acts as a smooth optical surface that masks small corneal irregularities. Durable, available in bifocal and multifocal designs, and typically planned around annual replacement.

WAVE Contact Lenses makes topography-driven CAD/CAM lens designs — the platform powers WAVE NightLens (ortho-k), WAVE CustomLens (GP), and WAVE ScleraLens (sclerals). The lens is built directly from a precise corneal scan rather than fitted via diagnostic trial. Useful when standard parameters don't fit and you need a one-of-a-kind design.

A larger lens that vaults over the cornea and rests on the white of the eye, with a fluid-filled chamber underneath. Often life-changing for keratoconus, severe dry eye, post-surgical irregularity, or any cornea that doesn't tolerate a standard contact. They sound complicated. Most patients adapt within a couple of fittings.

For patients who need both specialty correction and reading vision — available in custom soft and GP designs.

What a specialty contact lens fit looks like.

A specialty fit takes longer than a standard contact lens exam. We don't charge for follow-up fittings during this process. We work with you until the lenses are right.

Insurance and medical necessity.

When a specialty lens fit qualifies as medically necessary, most major vision plans (VSP, EyeMed) include a Medically Necessary Contact Lens benefit that applies — and the coverage is significantly better than what vision plans pay for "elective" contacts. The benefit is part of your vision plan, not your medical plan; whether your specific case qualifies depends on the diagnosis and your plan's rules.

Schedule a specialty lens consultation.