Charlotte Contact Lens Institute

Charlotte Contact Lens Institute Charlotte Contact Lens Institute is an independent practice providing custom & personalized care.

Came in for your specialty lenses, left seeing clearly and rocking a new pair of Maui Jims ✨Polarized lenses can be espe...
05/26/2026

Came in for your specialty lenses, left seeing clearly and rocking a new pair of Maui Jims ✨

Polarized lenses can be especially beneficial for patients with corneal conditions by reducing harsh glare, light sensitivity, and visual discomfort while enhancing contrast and clarity, helping our patients achieve more comfortable and functional vision in bright outdoor environments.

Our display is impossible to miss—and once you try them on, it’s basically love at first sight. It happens more often than you think 😂

PS: Check out our team repping their Mauis too! 😎

Have you ever washed out a myopia control patient and uncovered significantly higher refractive error than anticipated?T...
05/21/2026

Have you ever washed out a myopia control patient and uncovered significantly higher refractive error than anticipated?

This 11-year-old ortho-k patient presented to establish care after relocating internationally. She reported excellent compliance (≥8 hours nightly wear) with appropriate hygiene and care. Entering VA was 20/25 OD, 20/20 OS, and 20/20 OU.

Following washout, manifest refraction revealed -7.00 -2.25 x005 OD and -6.00 -2.75 x160 OS.

The patient was refit into a more customizable free-form ortho-k design and dispensed in-office. At 1-month follow-up, she returned with uncorrected 20/20 VA OU and minimal residual refractive error. After letting the treatment settle in for another month, measurements confirmed further improvement, with a ROL of +0.75 OD and +0.50 OS, consistent with manifest refraction.
With stable acuity, good comfort, and patient satisfaction, the fit was finalized and follow-up extended to 6 months.

A strong reminder of the value of letting the treatment ride in in ortho-k patients with especially high refractive error/astigmatism.

What is the highest amount of refractive error you have uncovered afterHow often are completing a washout protocol in myopia management patients?

05/12/2026

We all know how life-changing scleral lenses can be for our keratoconus patients.

But what if “good vision” isn’t actually the finish line?
This case was a great reminder for me.

A long-standing keratoconus patient came in wearing GP lenses with BCVA of 20/100 OD and 20/60 OS. After refitting into scleral lenses (with front surface toricity), we improved her vision to 20/60 OD and 20/25 OS.

She was thrilled… but still struggling with nighttime glare and halos.

That’s where things changed.

Using .us HOA (higher-order aberration) technology, we were able to measure and address the residual aberrations that traditional scleral lens designs simply can’t fully correct.

And this is the shift: Scleral lenses restore vision & .us HOA-guided optics optimize it

We’re now able to:
• Quantify coma and other higher-order aberrations
• Customize optics beyond sphere/cylinder
• Improve quality of vision—not just acuity
• Specifically target night vision complaints

For patients who are already “20/20 but not happy,” this has been a game changer in our practice.

Stevens Johnson syndrome is a rare, severe immune mediated condition, most often triggered by medications, that can resu...
05/06/2026

Stevens Johnson syndrome is a rare, severe immune mediated condition, most often triggered by medications, that can result in devastating long term ocular surface disease.

In the chronic phase, patients may develop significant scarring, symblepharon, severe dryness, limbal stem cell deficiency, and progressive vision loss. These cases are often some of the most challenging we manage.

This 62 year old male developed Stevens Johnson syndrome as a child secondary to penicillin. His ocular history is significant for keratolimbal allograft in 2017. He is now monocular due to severe symblepharon resulting in complete eyelid closure in the fellow eye.

Fitting was particularly challenging due to:
• Significant symblepharon
• Very flat cornea
• Severe conjunctival profile irregularity

Given this level of complexity, impression based design was the best option to accurately capture the ocular surface and achieve appropriate alignment.

We prescribed a scleral lens along with autologous serum placed in the bowl prior to application. His best corrected vision in the scleral lens is 20/60.

In Stevens Johnson syndrome, scleral lenses serve a critical therapeutic role beyond vision. The fluid reservoir continuously bathes the cornea, reduces mechanical trauma from the lids, and helps maintain epithelial integrity in an otherwise compromised surface.

For these patients, aggressive lubrication is essential, and scleral lenses function as a protective environment to support long term ocular surface health and preserve functional vision.

visionrehabilitation

05/06/2026

After years of fitting specialty contact lenses, Dr. Ariel Cerenzie says the Solix OCT/OCT-A has become an integral part of her workflow.

The Charlotte Contact Lens Institute, in partnership with , hosted a doctor social at the Knights game, bringing togeth...
05/01/2026

The Charlotte Contact Lens Institute, in partnership with , hosted a doctor social at the Knights game, bringing together a great mix of ODs and MDs. It was such a fun night connecting outside of the clinic and spending time together in a relaxed setting with some delicious game day food.

I loved seeing all of the conversations and connections among our Charlotte metro eye care community!

A huge thank you to for helping sponsor such a special night ❤️We really value having partners who are so aligned with collaboration, innovation, and supporting how we practice.
Fun fact: there were two grand slams in the game, both in the first two innings. The odds of that happening are about 1 in 15,000, which made the night even more memorable ⚾

Thank you again to everyone who came out. It was such a blast getting to spend time together. Sharing a few photos from the night. There were some great ones!

This patient was originally referred to us for a scleral lens consultation to address blurred vision secondary irregular...
04/21/2026

This patient was originally referred to us for a scleral lens consultation to address blurred vision secondary irregular astigmatism s/p RK and severe dry eye disease. She also has neurotrophic keratitis. Her images at the top who her corneal defect secondary to neurotrophic keratitis. The pictures below show her corneas after 6 weeks of scleral lens wear. She instills a few drops of prophylactic antibiotics into the scleral lens bowl to help avoid infection of the defect. We will soon have her instill autologous serum into the bowl of the scleral lens. We are so please with her results with just a scleral lens protecting the ocular surface and allowing the corneal to heal. Stay tuned for her ongoing healing process!

This patient was originally referred to our practice for a scleral lens consultation to address blurred vision secondary to irregular astigmatism s/p RK, along with severe dry eye disease and neurotrophic keratitis.

The images at the top show her corneal epithelial defect related to neurotrophic keratitis. The photos below highlight her corneal surface after just 6 weeks of scleral lens wear! 🤯

She has been instilling a few drops of prophylactic antibiotic into the bowl of the scleral lens to reduce the risk of infection, and we will soon be transitioning to autologous serum in the lens reservoir to further support healing.

We are so pleased with her progress. Simply protecting the ocular surface with a scleral lens has led to remarkable corneal healing. ✨

Ever feel like your vision gets cloudy halfway through the day? 💭👁️Mid-day fogging is a common issue for specialty conta...
04/10/2026

Ever feel like your vision gets cloudy halfway through the day? 💭👁️

Mid-day fogging is a common issue for specialty contact lens wearers. In this case, the fogging was caused by debris building up behind the lens due to excess limbal clearance, sometimes combined with a slightly loose edge—allowing unwanted tear exchange and debris to enter the space under the lens.

By adjusting edge alignment and reducing limbal clearance, we were able to limit tear exchange and significantly reduce debris accumulation behind the lens (check out the before and after!).

Pro tip: If you experience fogging, adding a couple drops of a thicker, preservative-free artificial tear before inserting your lens can help keep things clearer and more comfortable throughout the day.

Clear vision shouldn’t fade by lunchtime ✨

One of my favorite parts of what we do is getting to watch our little patients grow up over the years. This sweet little...
04/07/2026

One of my favorite parts of what we do is getting to watch our little patients grow up over the years. This sweet little girl absolutely brightened my day, complete with some post-exam tickles and the best hugs 💕

This 35-year-old male was referred to us for a scleral lens evaluation of his left eye (OS) after corneal trauma led to ...
04/01/2026

This 35-year-old male was referred to us for a scleral lens evaluation of his left eye (OS) after corneal trauma led to neurotrophic keratitis and persistent SPK. His main concerns were blurred vision, cosmetic redness, lid drooping, and persistent discomfort 😣

He had already been through extensive treatment, including ointment, preservative-free tears, Oxervate, Vevye, Miebo, with an amniotic membrane pending insurance approval. Yet the eye remained inflamed and uncomfortable.

During his scleral lens fitting, he reported instant relief ✨ with the trial lens, asking if he could take the lens home (we wish we could!).

After wearing his scleral lens for 2 weeks, his eye looked quieter and even the lid position improved (photo 1). His corneal epithelium significantly improved (photo 2) with complete SPK resolution.

In cases of neurotrophic keratitis and ocular surface disease, scleral lenses aren’t just refractive devices; they function as a therapeutic bandage system, creating a stable environment for healing.

For this patient (who works in a public-facing role), the cosmetic improvement was just as meaningful as the comfort and vision gains.

When conventional dry eye therapies plateau, therapeutic scleral lenses can truly change the trajectory.

Address

5950 Fairview Road Suite 708
Charlotte, NC
28210

Telephone

+17048005230

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