Contact Lenses London - Contact Lenses Eye Test

Doctor Levit has worked as a contact lens specialist at St. George’s (now Moorfields) Hospital since 1996 and in Central Middlesex Hospital since 2006. He has a wealth of experience in the art and science of contact lens visual correction. His Fellowship of the College of Optometrists, was obtained in 1994 in the specialist areas of contact lenses and children’s visual problems. Both Alex Levit and Simon Barnard hold higher Certificates in Contact Lenses for Abnormal Ocular Conditions awarded by City University in conjunction with MoorfieldsEyeHospital. Doctor Levit is the inventor and designer of a specialist contact lens design and correction system for keratoconus called the ALK™ which are manufactured and distributed all over the world by Ultravision CLPL.

New to Contact Lenses?

Patients who would like to have contact lenses for the first time or those who failed with contact lenses in the past will need an initial appointment, which includes a full eye examination and a contact lens suitability assessment. During these examinations Doctor Levit will establish your spectacle prescription, check the health of your eyes and assess suitability for contact lens wear. Special additional measurements such as mapping the shape of your cornea with high precision digital topography and an assessment of the quantity and quality of your tears may be required. Once all of this is done we will want to discuss with you both your suitability and the most appropriate type of lenses for your individual visual requirements and lifestyle. Please review the various contact lens handling and care instructions at your leasure.

If you are suitable for contact lenses and you wish to proceed further you will need further appointment time for the contact lens fitting. This procedure can sometimes commence at the same time as your contact lens assessment or it may be that a further appointment is required. The fitting process may entail a number of appointments over a period of time. This is to ensure that we dedicate as much time as is necessary in order to fit you with the best lenses for you. To this end, the contact lens fitting fee covers an unlimited number of appointments and lenses over the next three months. An aftercare appointment will be arranged once the extended tolerance trial is over to make sure that you are totally satisfied and that your eyes exhibit no adverse reaction to the contact lenses or solutions.

Existing contact lens wearers

If you are a current contact lens wearer, Doctor Levit will examine your existing lenses, lens wear history and your eyes. Please allow plenty of time especially if you are not entirely satisfied with your current lenses, as wearers who have developed problems are often more complicated to manage than non contact lens wearers. A full general eye examination and spectacle prescription may need to be established to obtain the essential information required in order to provide the best possible advice.

General lens type information

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP)

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses are custom made for every eye and are fitted with a high level of precision. Because of their rigidity, they provide excellent vision and will correct corneal irregularities such as regular and irregular corneal astigmatism. These lenses are manufactured in a great variety of designs and materials and therefore are suitable for most people. Well fitting and appropriately handled RGP lenses are extremely safe due to their minimal interference with the eye’s and ocular adnexa’s normal physiology.

Soft lenses

These lenses are made from soft, flexible materials called hydrogels (watery gels), and most patients find them very comfortable straight away. They are relatively simple to fit and are available in a variety of designs and materials. These lenses can be worn either on a regular or on an occasional basis. They are replaced regularly, anything from daily to annually. Custom designs with these lenses are possible although not routinely required.

Hybrid contact lenses [RGP centre, soft periphery (skirt)

High quality hybrid lenses have been developed in order to offer the vision quality advantages of RGP lenses and the quick adaptation and comfort of soft lenses. The new generation hybrid lenses offer excellent visual benefits to patients with a variety of challenging optical conditions and visual requirements.

Contact lenses for astigmatism (toric contact lenses)

People with astigmatism are usually able to wear contact lenses successfully. Toric lenses require careful fitting and may necessitate more visits to the practice. For mild levels of astigmatism soft disposable lenses are usually adequate for more complex astigmatism custom soft toric or RGP lenses will be designed and fitted. Toric lenses are available in a variety of excellent materials with a a variety of complexity of lens designs. Your practitioner will advise which contact lens options are appropriate for you.

Contact lenses for presbyopia (multifocal lenses)

There have been considerable advances in contact lens manufacturing technology; it is now possible to fit lenses that will correct reading as well as distance vision. A wide variety of options are now available, including daily and monthly disposable multifocal lenses as well as RGP and even hybrid multifocal lenses. Custom made RGP bifocal lenses may be prescribed for an uncompromised vision at both distance and near. Please ask at your appointment for more information on these.

Orthokeratology/Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT)

Orthokeratology or Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) is the art and science of the temporary elimination of myopia (short-sightedness) with specialist contact lenses. These lenses are worn during sleep overnight and removed on awaking in the morning. These lenses alter the shape of the front of the eye (cornea) which is elastic in nature, by the exact amount required to eliminate the myopia of the eye. This process is safe and fully reversible. If the therapy is successful the need to use glasses and lenses during the day is removed. There are different systems available at the practice, all of which are FDA approved. Doctor Levit has been practicing orthokeratology since 1995, and is an Accredited Member of the British and European Orthokeratology Society. For more information on Orthokeratology, or to book an appointment please contact reception.

Specialist contact lens services

Doctor Levit has dealt with a wide variety of complex eye conditions throughout his career. He routinely receives referrals from ophthalmic surgeons, in the UK and from abroad, optometric colleagues as well as from general practitioners of patients with a wide variety of corneal and visual disorders. The most common disorders referred are ecstatic corneal disorders like keratoconus, eyes with postoperative complications, following corneal graft, refractive laser or cataract surgery. The fitting requirements for these patients are more complex and require specialist knowledge and lens designs. Doctor Levit is a certified specialist in all medical contact lens modalities; these include specialist corneal rigid lenses, a variety of hybrid lens designs, as well as large corneal, semi-limbal and scleral lenses. All of these are available and regularly fitted at Barnard and Levit.

Contact Lens Assessment and fitting fee structure

For details of fees please contact reception.

Step 1

If you have not had a full eye examination at our practice within the last 12 months we will ask you to arrange this, as this is the most important first step in the understanding of your eyes and visual system. The routine eye examination fee will apply.

Step 2

A contact lens suitability assessment will follow that appointment, where specific corneal measurements are performed as well as an in-depth assessment of the base line ocular health and suitability for contact lens wear. At the end of these examinations the optometrist will be in a position to advice and discuss the merits of various contact lens options most suitable for each individual. A standard contact lens assessment fee if you are new to contact lenses or a specific contact lens check up fee, if you are a contact lens wearer will be charged.

Step 3

A contact lens fitting for a patient new to contact lenses, a re-fitting if required for an established contact lens wearer will be commenced at the same or a separate visit. The fee is determined according to the complexity of each individual patients visual and contact lens requirements. Examples of our more standard contact lens categories are listed below:

Standard spherical soft lenses
Toric (or astigmatic) soft lenses
Multifocal soft lenses
Standard RGP lenses
Toric RGP lenses
Bifocal or multifocal RGP lenses
Complex medical lenses e.g., keratoconus and post-corneal grafts or following complication of laser surgery
Orthokeratology to remove short sightedness

The fitting fee includes all the appointments and materials (mainly trial lenses) and tuition until the satisfactory conclusion of the fitting and adaptation process. This normally is accomplished in three weeks, however may take up to three months in the more complex scenarios. Contact lens aftercares and follow up appointments after the fitting completion will be charged at a standard fee for each appointment. Our Perpetual Eye Care Plan , is used by the majority of contact lens wearers, as it enables patients to receive all the care and lenses they require, as well as other benefits through a direct debit contract with the practice. Please remember that if at any time you decide not to continue further on the contact lens route, the only fees charged will be for our time.

Contact Lenses