About our Keratoconus Doctors

Dr. Benjamin Azman is a nationally recognized keratoconus specialist based in Baltimore, Maryland, known for helping patients who remain unhappy with their keratoconus vision or contact lenses despite years of care elsewhere. Patients travel to see Dr. Azman from across Maryland and Virginia, throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and from across the United States and around the world seeking the highest level of customized keratoconus vision available.

A distinguished graduate of the SUNY College of Optometry, Dr. Azman has dedicated his career almost exclusively to the diagnosis and management of keratoconus and other complex corneal conditions. A significant portion of his patients seek care after being told there was “nothing more that could be done,” after struggling with uncomfortable scleral lenses, or after achieving poor or unstable vision despite multiple prior fittings.

Advanced Keratoconus Lens Designs

Dr. Azman specializes in designing advanced keratoconus contact lenses tailored to each individual cornea, including custom scleral lenses, PROSE lenses, wavefront HOA-correcting lenses, and impression-based scleral lenses. By combining advanced corneal diagnostics with hands-on lens design and refinement, he is able to reduce visual distortion, glare, halos, ghosting, and poor clarity that standard lenses often fail to address.

Throughout his career, Dr. Azman has treated hundreds of keratoconus patients using cutting-edge technology and highly individualized design strategies to restore functional, high-quality vision. His philosophy is simple: no two keratoconus patients are the same, and no two lens designs should be either.

Dr. Azman completed a clinical rotation at the Perry Point VA Hospital in Perryville, Maryland, where he examined, diagnosed, and treated hundreds of patients with complex ocular disease. This experience strengthened his ability to manage challenging cases and reinforced his commitment to comprehensive, detail-driven eye care.

He is an active member of the Maryland Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association, and remains engaged in advancing keratoconus care through continuing education and clinical research.

Dr. Azman is often described by colleagues as a “doctor’s doctor,” with optometrists and ophthalmologists referring their most complex keratoconus cases to him. Beyond professional referrals, several eye doctors who personally have keratoconus choose Dr. Azman for their own care — a rare and meaningful endorsement.

Optometrists and ophthalmologists throughout Maryland and the surrounding states refer their most complex keratoconus cases to Dr. Azman — and several eye care professionals who personally have keratoconus choose him for their own care.

At Keratoconus Specialists of Maryland, Dr. Azman leads a practice specifically equipped and staffed for keratoconus and irregular cornea care, with a singular focus on helping patients achieve clearer, more stable, and more comfortable vision — often when other options have failed.

Dr. Richard Adler, MD, FACS, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and cornea specialist with decades of experience in complex corneal disease. He completed his fellowship training at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, one of the foremost corneal programs in the country. Dr. Adler is physically based at our Baltimore office, where he provides on-site medical and corneal evaluation for keratoconus patients alongside our specialty lens team.

At Keratoconus Specialists of Maryland, Dr. Adler plays a key role in the medical evaluation of keratoconus patients — particularly those with advanced disease, corneal scarring, or concerns about long-term corneal stability. His expertise helps guide critical decisions regarding disease progression, treatment timing, and when further evaluation may or may not be appropriate.

Dr. Adler works closely with our specialty keratoconus and advanced contact lens team to ensure patients receive a coordinated, team-based approach, combining expert corneal oversight with state-of-the-art optical and non-surgical solutions whenever possible.

His clinical focus includes the evaluation and management of keratoconus and corneal ectasia, comprehensive corneal disease care, long-term corneal health planning, and collaborative management of complex keratoconus cases that require both medical and optical expertise.

Patients appreciate Dr. Adler for his clear communication, thoughtful guidance, and reassuring approach, especially when navigating complex or high-stakes decisions about their vision and eye health.

For patients whose keratoconus raises questions about disease progression, corneal stability, or the need for further evaluation, Dr. Adler provides the medical oversight to guide those decisions. When surgical care is appropriate, our team works with respected corneal surgeons to ensure patients receive coordinated, expert-level care from evaluation through recovery.

Dr. Irwin Azman founded Keratoconus Specialists of Maryland in 1977 and built it into one of the most recognized keratoconus practices in the United States. A graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry, Dr. Irwin Azman spent decades treating keratoconus patients from across the country, establishing the practice’s reputation as a destination for patients others could not help. In 1996, he was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on the Maryland Board of Examiners in Optometry, where he served for eight years. He is also a clinical instructor at the University of Maryland Department of Ophthalmology and a member of the Maryland and American Optometric Association.

The standards of care, clinical philosophy, and commitment to individualized lens design that Dr. Irwin Azman established over nearly five decades remain the foundation of how our team approaches every patient today.

Keratoconus Specialists of MD, a Global Complex Eye Care company, is specifically designed, equipped, and staffed to provide the keratoconus contact lens patient with nothing but the finest in professional care. As keratoconus specialists, we have successfully treated patients with keratoconus and other irregular corneas, many who were previously told they could not wear contact lenses.

Our doctors prescribe contact lenses made by all major manufacturers, as well as contact lenses from smaller custom labs, and even develop our own unique contact lenses for patients whom other doctors may consider difficult or impossible to fit. At Keratoconus Specialists of MD, our doctors stay well informed of emerging technologies by being involved in research studies and FDA clinical trials.