Panelists at a roundtable discussion of prosthetic lenses at the 1999 Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists (CLAO) in Las Vegas offered these suggestions if you want to fit prosthetic contact lenses:

�        Begin with the easiest cases � dark-eyed patients. Obtaining a favorable match for light-eyed patients is getting easier, but success with fitting dark-eyed patients still comes much faster. Also, keep in mind that congenital disfigurements with small children can more difficult because children�s eyes are smaller.

�        Review expectations with the patient. It�s important that the patient understands that you can make his or her eye look better, but that it�s not always a perfect match with the unaffected eye.

�        Introduce prosthetic lenses without reservation. You can be pretty direct when asking patients if they�re interested in a prosthetic. They�ve gotten used to the scars and have learned to ignore them. While your examining the patient say, �You know we can get a contact lens that will cover up that scar.�

�        Make an initial trial with a commercially available cosmetic lens. Use of a cosmetic colored lens is less expensive and more readily available. If that doesn�t work, move on to a special order lens.