AAOpt 2026: Ortho-k "mistakes" provide opportunities for success

Speaking from AAOpt 2026 in Anaheim, California, Kevin Chan, OD, MS, FAAO, FBCLA, IACMM, overviewed a session on orthokeratology (ortho-k) that he presented. The session, titled “Key Lessons Learned for Orthokeratology Success,” was presented alongside Sherman Tung, FAAO, FCCSO, FIAOMC, IACMM, and Laurence Wong, OD, FIAOMC, IACMM, who all share a strong interest in ortho-k care, particularly its use in treating and managing myopia.

The course was planned as a grand-round-style discussion built around clinical cases. Rather than focusing only on the cases themselves, the presenters explained how they arrive at treatment choices and why they take particular approaches. The goal was to give attendees practical insight into clinical reasoning and to encourage a broader appreciation of ortho-k as one of the specialty contact lens options available to practitioners, according to Chan.

He recognizes that ortho-k can feel challenging to adopt. He identifies a steep learning curve, the time involved in developing skill, and variable outcomes as factors that may discourage clinicians from using it. The course aims to address those concerns and offer a different perspective on the specialty.

A central theme is that ortho-k may be useful across different levels of myopia—not only in low myopia, where practitioners may already expect it to work, but also in moderate and high myopia. Chan and colleagues challenged the assumption that high myopia is too difficult to manage with ortho-k. In particular, they discussed adjusting lens diameter to suit different levels of myopia and help achieve appropriate optical outcomes for patients receiving myopia-management care.

Chan also emphasizes learning from clinical mistakes. He notes that some practitioners may worry that errors or disappointing results will be disastrous, causing them to avoid trying again. He and his co-speakers intend to share mistakes they have made themselves and reframe them as opportunities to improve clinical thinking. A mistake at one point in a clinician’s development, he argues, does not define their future ability or determine what they can achieve with OrthoK. Instead, mistakes can become stepping stones toward better practice and patient care.

Overall, the presentation is intended to build confidence, question assumptions about which patients can benefit, and encourage clinicians to view challenges and mistakes as part of developing their ortho-k expertise.

Kevin Chan is the senior clinical director of Tree Health Science, education co-chair for the Maryland Optometric Association, and medical co-editor of Review of MP Management under Jobson.