International Congress of Scleral Contacts
- Whitney McConkey
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 12
My day started with a horrible migraine and barely able to think, as an emergency patient walked in as I'm trying to leave clinic to make my flight to Charlotte. As we waited to board the plane, there were constant announcements about an impending storm, that we needed to board quickly to get off the ground before the front hit. We pile on like sardines, every seat filled, we pull away from the gate, and we got grounded. Two hours on the tarmac, but at least the plane was cool. Hours later we landed in Charlotte, I walk into the Westin and was greeted by a sign saying "Welcome to ICSC." Finally.
The International Congress of Scleral Contacts is an annual conference where scleral lens fitters from across the world meet to learn about the newest and best advancements in scleral lens technology and fitting philosophies to better care for our patients.
Takeaways from this year's meeting:
New lens customizations - every lens brand is becoming more and more customizable. When I started fitting scleral lenses, they only came in spherical edges, that transitioned to toric edges, and then quadrant specific edges, to 3D modeled edges. Now there is more focus on the center of the lens, bi-elevation, and coming soon: quadrant specific elevation. Fitting irregularly shaped eyes will become better with these advancements.
Solutions and care products - Ten years ago, everyone used generic saline off label for scleral lens wear. Now we have more options than we know what to do with. Scleral lens wearers: samples coming soon if you'd like to try something new.
RGP vs Scleral vs Piggyback - not created equal, but all have their place.
Higher Order Aberration Correction - HOA correction is here. This technology can take away distortions for patients, but the cost is steep, and this doctor is still on the fence about the true benefit versus a good fit, well centered lens. Call me conservative, but I'm not ready to make the jump.
Impression based sclerals - we are still here. While there is digital technology, nothing compares to impression based scleral lenses, however, with the advancements being made in customized sclerals, the need for this is less and less.
The scleral lens community is still small, I only saw one other scleral lens expert from Maryland, but we are growing. I am excited to be able to mentor this newer generation.
I am always grateful to the doctors who take the time to share their expertise and research to better scleral lens fittings for those all across the globe. Thank you, ICSC.
Learn about more of Dr. McConkey's adventures:
