Prosthetic Contact Lenses

By Michelle Stephenson

Prosthetic contact lenses mask flaws and improve the appearance of an eye disfigured from a birth defect, trauma, or eye disease. If certain structures of the injured or disfigured eye also fail to function properly, these special contact lenses can also be designed to block excess light from reaching the back of the eye and causing vision problems.

Your eye care practitioner can match prosthetic contact lenses to the appearance of a healthy eye by using a pre-made set or by ordering custom-painted contact lenses. Similar to regular contact lenses, prosthetic contact lenses can be gas permeable or soft. Care of these special contact lenses also is similar to that of regular soft or gas permeable lenses. [See also: Care of gas permeable or soft contact lenses]

These special lenses can be made from a prescription to correct poor vision, or they can be completely colored to mask eyes that can no longer see.

Eye Conditions That May Benefit From Prosthetic Contact Lenses

Many different injuries, conditions, or infections can lead to disfigurement of the eye and leave an individual feeling self-conscious about appearance. Prosthetic lenses specially designed to match the other eye as closely as possible can make the disfigured eye less conspicuous.

Eye conditions and accompanying disfigurement that may benefit from use of a prosthetic contact lens include incomplete formation of the pupil (aniridia), lack of pigment or color in the eye (albinism), double vision (diplopia), and disfigurement of the eye surface (cornea) from trauma.

This person has a defect in his left iris (top photo). After being fit with a prosthetic contact lens, the eye has a more natural appearance (bottom photo). Images: Marietta Vision.

When involuntary shaking of the eye occurs in a condition known as nystagmus, prosthetic contact lenses can be used to mask eye movement and improve appearance.

People with albinism or other eye conditions creating light sensitivity (photophobia) can benefit from prosthetic lenses that reduce the amount of light entering the eye.

Colored contact lenses known as occluders also may be prescribed to block vision in the stronger eye of an infant or child who has amblyopia, as a way of strengthening vision in the weaker eye. This method is useful also because younger children may remove eye patches and disrupt therapy that involves blocking vision in the stronger eye.

How Prosthetic Contact Lenses Are Ordered

Your eye doctor could have a pre-made set on hand, but may need to special-order your prosthetic contact lens by supplying the manufacturer close-up photographs of both of your eyes so that proper eye color and appearance matching can be done.

Some prosthetic lens manufacturers also provide a sample palette of color selections so that eye doctors can then select the best match for special ordering. An eye exam also will be needed to determine what, if any, vision correction may be required.

[Page updated April 2009]