Which surgeries leave corneas that need scleral lenses?

The common ones: corneal transplants (PK and DALK), radial keratotomy (RK), LASIK or PRK with ectasia or irregular healing, complicated cataract surgery including aphakia, and pterygium or trauma repairs that scar the surface. Anything that leaves irregular astigmatism is a candidate.

How soon after surgery can I be fit?

Once the surface is stable and your surgeon clears it — the timing varies by procedure, from a few weeks to several months (transplants often wait for suture adjustments). We coordinate directly with your surgeon so the fit starts the moment it’s safe.

Will a scleral lens disturb my graft?

No — that’s the point of the design. The lens vaults the cornea completely, clearing the graft and its junction, and lands only on the white of the eye. The Eaglet ESP map lets us design clearance around every elevation.

Why can’t glasses fix my vision after surgery?

Glasses correct regular curves. A post-surgical cornea is irregular, with different powers at every point, so some blur always remains. The scleral lens’s fluid reservoir replaces the irregular surface optically, which is why the improvement is often dramatic.

Do you work with my surgeon?

Yes — post-surgical fits are co-managed. We send reports, respect healing timelines, and loop the surgeon in on anything the fit reveals. Many of our post-surgical patients are referred to us by their surgeons.

Are post-surgical scleral lenses covered by insurance?

Often, yes — scleral lenses for post-surgical corneas are frequently covered as medically necessary contact lenses under medical insurance. We document the medical necessity and verify benefits before you commit: 310-828-2010.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brandon Cohenmehr, OD Last reviewed October 24, 2026

Scleral Lenses After Eye Surgery in Los Angeles

When surgery leaves the cornea irregular, a fluid reservoir restores the optics.

Eye surgery saves sight — and sometimes leaves an irregular surface behind. When glasses and soft lenses can’t focus a post-surgical cornea, a free-form scleral lens vaults over it entirely and replaces it with a perfectly smooth optical surface. We fit the complex cases, co-managed with your surgeon.

Book a consultation Or call 310-828-2010

A scleral lens filled with saline before insertion

Fit from: An Eaglet ESP scan
Optics: Fluid-reservoir smoothing
Comfort: Vaults the cornea
Timeline: Often fit in one week

The problem

Healed — but not optically smooth.

Reviewing a post-surgical corneal topography

A cornea that has been cut, grafted or reshaped rarely heals into a perfect optical dome. It heals into a surface with hills, valleys and seams that scatter light. The result is irregular astigmatism: ghosting, halos, starbursts and blur that no glasses prescription can fully correct, because glasses can only correct regular curves.

Corneal transplants (PK and DALK): graft-host junctions and suture-shaped astigmatism
Radial keratotomy (RK): fluctuating vision over flattened, scarred corneas
LASIK and PRK complications: ectasia, irregular flaps, decentered ablations
Complicated cataract surgery, including aphakia: high residual prescriptions
Pterygium and trauma repair: scarring that pulls the surface out of shape

If any of these describe your eye, the blur you live with is probably not the best vision your eye can deliver; it’s the best vision a spectacle lens can deliver through an irregular window.

The scleral answer

A new surface, not a compromise.

A scleral lens never touches the healed cornea. It rests on the white of the eye and holds a cushion of fluid over the surgery site — the fluid fills every irregularity, and the lens’s front surface becomes the eye’s new optical window.

01
The reservoir does the correcting: Saline fills the hills and valleys and optically erases the irregularity. Vision is often the best since before surgery.
02
Free-form, from a map: The Eaglet Eye Surface Profiler maps the eye with hundreds of thousands of points, so the lens is designed around grafts, scars and elevations instead of being forced onto them.
03
Protects while it corrects: The fluid layer continuously bathes a fragile, post-surgical surface, so the same lens gives comfort and supports healing.
04
Co-managed with your surgeon: We coordinate timing, clearances and reports so the fit supports the surgical result.

How the fitting works

Common questions

After surgery, answered.

Anything else, call the office at 310-828-2010.

The common ones: corneal transplants (PK and DALK), radial keratotomy (RK), LASIK or PRK with ectasia or irregular healing, complicated cataract surgery including aphakia, and pterygium or trauma repairs that scar the surface. Anything that leaves irregular astigmatism is a candidate.
Once the surface is stable and your surgeon clears it — the timing varies by procedure, from a few weeks to several months (transplants often wait for suture adjustments). We coordinate directly with your surgeon so the fit starts the moment it’s safe.
No — that’s the point of the design. The lens vaults the cornea completely, clearing the graft and its junction, and lands only on the white of the eye. The Eaglet ESP map lets us design clearance around every elevation.
Glasses correct regular curves. A post-surgical cornea is irregular, with different powers at every point, so some blur always remains. The scleral lens’s fluid reservoir replaces the irregular surface optically, which is why the improvement is often dramatic.
Yes — post-surgical fits are co-managed. We send reports, respect healing timelines, and loop the surgeon in on anything the fit reveals. Many of our post-surgical patients are referred to us by their surgeons.
Often, yes — scleral lenses for post-surgical corneas are frequently covered as medically necessary contact lenses under medical insurance. We document the medical necessity and verify benefits before you commit: 310-828-2010.

Post-surgical scleral lens fittings near you

12222 Wilshire Blvd, on the Santa Monica border. Free parking on Wellesley, just south of Wilshire.

West Los Angeles Brentwood Santa Monica Westwood Beverly Hills Century City Bel Air Culver City Mar Vista Venice Marina del Rey Pacific Palisades West Hollywood

Also consider

Next step

From complicated to corrected.

Bring your surgical history — our eye doctors in Los Angeles will map the eye, show you the surface, and tell you honestly what a scleral lens can restore. Patients fly in for these fittings; most are completed within one week.

Book Today Or call 310-828-2010