Medically reviewed by Dr. Brandon Cohenmehr, OD Last reviewed
Aphakia & Specialty Lenses
An eye without its lens needs its optics rebuilt on the outside.
Aphakia means the eye’s natural crystalline lens is absent — removed with a childhood cataract, lost to trauma, or taken out in surgery that couldn’t place an implant. The eye loses a huge share of its focusing power at once. Glasses at these strengths are thick, heavy and distorting; the cleaner answer is usually a specialty contact lens that puts the missing power right at the eye.
- The condition
- The eye’s natural lens is absent
- The need
- Very high plus power, precisely placed
- The tools
- Custom soft, RGP and scleral designs
- In children
- Urgent — vision development depends on it
The optics
Why contact lenses beat aphakic glasses.
Spectacles strong enough for aphakia magnify the world, shrink the field of view, and swim at the edges — and when only one eye is aphakic, the two eyes’ images differ too much for the brain to fuse. A contact lens corrects at the eye itself, so magnification stays modest and both eyes can work together.
- Custom soft lenses
High-plus soft designs made to order, often the starting point for infants and for adults who want simplicity.
- Rigid gas permeable (RGP)
Crisp optics in a small lens; long the workhorse of pediatric aphakia.
- Scleral lenses
When the surface is also compromised by trauma scarring, dryness or irregularity, a scleral carries the high-plus optics on a stable, fluid-cushioned platform.
- The fitting
Powers this high leave no room for guesswork: vertex-exact refraction, careful lens-eye alignment, and designs refined on the eye.
The plan
Fitted, trained, rechecked — at every age.
- 01
Coordinate with the surgeon
Timing after surgery, healing status and implant plans all shape the lens strategy. Records move between offices so nothing stalls.
- 02
Design for the eye’s stage
Infant eyes change fast; powers and fits are updated on a schedule. Adult aphakic eyes get the same precision with fewer revisions.
- 03
Train the hands involved
Parents learn insertion, removal and care for small patients; adults learn their own routine. It becomes ordinary faster than families expect.
- 04
Protect the progress
In children, patching and amblyopia care run alongside the lens; in everyone, follow-ups confirm the cornea stays healthy under high-plus wear.
This page is for you if
- Your child had congenital cataract surgery without an implant
- Trauma or complicated surgery left an eye without its lens
- Aphakic glasses feel thick, heavy and distorting
- An implant isn’t possible, or not yet
- You were told the prescription is “too high for contacts”
Why children can’t wait
A young brain learns to see only from the images it receives. An aphakic eye left blurry drifts toward amblyopia, so lens wear, parent training and close follow-up start promptly after surgery, coordinated with the surgical team.
The point
Aphakia is demanding. The fitting shouldn’t be improvised.
- Vertex-exact optics, always custom-ordered
- Scleral platforms when trauma or dryness complicates the surface
- Pediatric fittings coordinated with the surgical team
- Specialty lens care, personally overseen by Dr. Brandon Cohenmehr
Aphakia near you
12222 Wilshire Blvd, on the Santa Monica border.
Also consider
Next step
An aphakic eye in the family?
Bring the surgical records to our eye doctors in Los Angeles; we’ll map the eye, design the optics, and train the hands that will do the daily work — in coordination with your surgeon.