“I STARTED using Ortho-k lenses on February 17 and my vision back then was 10.25 in the right eye and it’s 8.00 in the left eye. After a week, it became 4.00 sa right and 2.25 sa left, and then 20/20 na siya after one month. Ortho-k changed my life for the better. I can now enjoy sports and going outside without having to wear eyeglasses and without worrying that my eye grade will worsen.”
This is just one of the messages Dr. Lareen Dawn Tan of Global Eyecare Center receives from her patients who have undergone orthokeratology or ortho-k, as more and more people have testified for ortho-k’s effectiveness in treating myopia and astigmatism.
Patrice, 30, of Davao City, wanted to undergo Lasik as she had eye grades before of 9.75 in the right eye and 8.00 in the left. Her eye grade was then monitored for any increase because in Lasik, patients are contraindicated if their eye grades are still increasing. Since her eye grades were really increasing, she was then advised to try ortho-k. And after a month since she underwent ortho-k procedure, her eyesight went back to 20/20.
Katrina, 18, of Davao City, has 20/20 vision in her left eye, making her unaware that she already has very poor vision in her right eye which she only discovered when she checked herself into a regular optical clinic. She discovered that her right eye can only see 20/100, making her at risk to get a lazy eye or amblyopia (libat in vernacular). She then was referred to Dr. Tan for vision therapy. But then, Dr. Tan found out that her eyes can still be corrected to 20/20 without undergoing vision therapy but her eyeglasses were very uncomfortable, as only her right eye had a grade and her left eye was still good. She advised Katrina instead to undergo ortho-k and after one month, Katrina got back her 20/20 vision both in her left and right eyes.
Tripoli, 28, of Davao City, went to a Lasik facility as she has an eye grade of 11.75 in her left and 8.75 in her right. But she was declined by the doctors at the Lasik facility because her corneas are too thin.
Patients with thin corneas are also contraindicated to undergo Lasik procedure as this will worsen the thinning of the corneas.
Tripoli went to Dr. Tan for ortho-k. As of the moment, she is still undergoing ortho-k treatment program.
A sporty kid, ZJ, 10 years old, still from Davao City, had 7.00 eye grades in both of his eyes. He didn’t want to wear eyeglasses since he couldn’t go swimming or do karate with these on. He had undergone ortho-k and gained back his 20/20 vision one month after.
One of Dr. Tan’s oldest patients, a businesswoman named Roanna, 32, just wanted to replace her contact lenses since her eye grades were increasing. Her last eye checkup almost three years ago revealed she had 5.75 in her right and 8.00 in the left eye. But when Dr. Tan checked her eyes again, the increase was very apparent at 7.25 in the right and 9.50 in her left eye for just around three years, which is very alarming because she’s of advanced age already, and her eye grade should not increase that fast. She was then diagnosed with degenerative myopia or the continuous increase of the grade beyond expected speed which may result to more severe eye disease like cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment in the future. She was then advised to undergo ortho-k, and after one month, her eye grades went back to 20/20 and have stopped increasing.
Another oldest patient was Sherhata, still 32, a physician. She just wanted to change her eyeglasses because she observed that her eye grades were increasing. She told Dr. Tan that her left eye used to have 3.00 while her right was 3.50. But when Dr. Tan examined her, she found out that in just six months, Sherhata’s eye grades increased to 3.75 in the left and 4.75 in the right, which means the rate of increase is very alarming. She underwent ortho-k treatment and in just one week, she got back her 20/20 vision without anymore progression.
These are just some of the testimonies of Dr. Tan’s patients on how ortho-k gained back their vision and stopped their myopia’s progression.
Ortho-k is for eyes as braces are for teeth. It cures myopia by fixing the shape of one’s corneas that are too curved caused by several factors, such as genetics, lifestyle or diseases by letting the patient fit and wear a special lens called ortho-k lens.
Unlike Lasik where there are many contraindications in treating refractive errors like being young, degenerative myopia, and thin corneas, ortho-k caters to as young as three years old, cures or prevents fast progression in patients with degenerative myopia, and suited for patients with thin corneas. It corrects vision, stops myopia progression, and prevents eye diseases in highly myopic patients.
Global Eyecare Center offers orthokeratology treatment program for P60,000 with 30 percent discount for pediatric patients.
Aside from orthokeratology, Global Eyecare Center also offers comprehensive eye exam, pediatric eye exam, dilated eye exam (which is ideal for those people who are suffering from diabetes and hypertension) suffering from diabetes and hypertension), intraocular pressure measurement (to screen for ocular hypertension and glaucoma), color vision test (for personal or for employment), vision therapy (also best for people suffering from strabismus and lazy eyes), gas permeable (GP) lens fitting (for those who have very high grade or those who need to wear contact lenses for longer periods due to work or other lifestyle reasons), prosthetic contact lens and prosthetic eyes (to gain back or improve self-confidence), low vision rehabilitation (ideal for patient’s limited vision due to eye diseases) and computer vision syndrome screening.
The center is handled by a team of eye care specialists and experts, namely: Dr. Eldeen Baluso, former dean of the College of Optometry, expert in RGP lens fitting and pediatric eye care; Dr. Lareen Dawn B. Tan, pediatric eye care, vision therapy and orthokeratology expert and 2015 Optometry Board Exam topnotcher; Dr. Tarrah Akeem Baluso, 2016 Optometry Board Exam topnotcher; Dr. Jirah Donguines, prosthetic eye expert; and Dr. Glen John Juyo, 2018 Optometry Board Exam topnotcher.
Global Eyecare Center -Abreeza is located at 2nd floor Expansion Wing, with contact numbers 0929-2279908 (Smart), 0995-4632319 (Globe), and (082) 225-9538 (landline).