Contact Lenses

Why choose the UCLA Health Contact Lens Practice?

Our Contact Lens Practice is a premier destination for patients in need of custom-fit contact lenses. We offer comprehensive, personalized treatment with compassion. Patients from throughout the region come to us for our expert care.

Highlights of our program include:

Personalized treatment: Our specialist uses advanced technology to create custom scleral lenses specifically for each patient. Patients who come to us can get custom-made lenses designed to meet their needs.   

Specialist expertise: The eye doctor who leads the Contact Lens Practice has advanced training, including fellowships in scleral lens fittings. She is a fellow of the Scleral Lens Society and American Academy of Optometry. She is also a member of national and international organizations, including the National Keratoconus Foundation and Global Keratoconus Foundation.

Research-driven care: As part of an academic institution, our specialists are continually learning and implementing new treatment options. We stay at the leading edge of eye and vision care and continually offer our patients the most advanced options.

Advanced technology: We use state-of-the-art tools in diagnosis and treatment, including EyePrintPRO (custom, impression-based lenses) and digitally designed freeform scleral lenses. These two options are not widely available in Southern California.

Conditions we treat

We offer custom contact lenses for a number of conditions. Patients who may benefit from custom lenses include those with:

Aphakia, including infantile aphakia: A condition in which the natural lens is removed when a baby is born with cataracts or because the lens is damaged by trauma

Contact lens intolerance: An inability to comfortably wear standard contact lenses

Corneal scars: An irregularity in the outer layer of eye tissue (cornea) that can affect the eye’s ability to focus

Corneal transplants: A surgical replacement of the cornea

Dry eyes: A condition in which the eyes don’t stay lubricated, either because of poor tear quality or lack of tear production

Keratoconus: An eye disease in which the cornea loses its round shape and develops a bulge  

Ocular surface disease: Disorders that affect the outer surface of the eye, including dry eye disease, blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction

Postrefractive corneal ectasia: A postsurgical complication of corneal damage and warping that appears similar to the warping in keratoconus

Contact lens treatments we offer

Our optometrists offer all types of contact lenses, including specialty contact lenses. Lens options may include:

Soft contact lenses: These are the most common type of contact lens. Eye doctors commonly prescribe them to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness or farsightedness.

Rigid gas permeable lenses: These hard lenses offer superior optics. They are made of a durable plastic that allows oxygen to pass through the lens to the eye’s surface. This helps keep the cornea healthy and may be beneficial for patients with certain conditions such as keratoconus.

Scleral lenses: These are large lenses that create a small tear-filled chamber over the surface of the eye. They are an effective treatment for several eye conditions, such as dry eye, keratoconus or corneal ectasia.

Hybrid contact lenses: These are soft lenses with a rigid center. They offer the superior optics of rigid lenses with soft lens comfort. Hybrid lenses may be a treatment for patients with astigmatism or other cornea irregularities.

Prosthetic soft contact lenses: These tinted lenses may mask a scar or injury to the eye. Patients may also need these lenses to improve eye function.

Meet our team

Our eye doctors are experts in crafting the contact lens type that best meets your needs. We have the technology and skill to provide every patient with a customized contact lens option.