Implantable contact lens alternative to laser surgery
The days of vision correction surgery being synonymous with laser are most definitely in the past now that a new range of implantable contact lens treatments is making eye surgery accessible to many more people, says Harley Street clinic Advanced Vision Care.
“It’s still a very common misconception that if you want to have vision correction surgery but your eyes aren’t suitable for laser for whatever reason, you are doomed to wear glasses or contact lenses for the rest of your life. Not true,” says AVC refractive surgeon Goran Helgason MD.
“The new generation of implantable contact lens treatments (ICL) greatly increases the options for those patients who have more complex eye condition, such as a very high prescription or corneas that are too thin or steep for laser. What’s more, the results are extremely impressive.”
Multifocal IOLs (intraocular lenses) are currently proving to be a very popular choice for AVC patients because they are highly effective at correcting both distance and near vision at the same time – all the benefits of bifocal glasses but without having to actually wear a pair.
It’s this quest to banish the appearance of ageing that has been a driving factor behind the sea-change in the eye surgery market, Dr Helgason explains.
“Over the past few years the growing presbyopic population – the baby boomer generation - has reached an age when they can’t read the small print. It’s actually very normal for your close vision to deteriorate in your 40s but in today’s youth-obsessed culture, the need to use reading glasses is viewed as having one foot in the grave. It’s this customer demand that has driven the advance of eye surgery technology today.”
Rather than changing the shape of the cornea, as with laser, implantable contact lenses are permanent miniature contact lenses that are surgically inserted into the eye to enhance the natural focusing ability. They are completely invisible and have the added advantage that they can be removed and altered in the future should eyesight change in later life. ICLs provide excellent quality of vision for a wide range of prescriptions from -25 (shortsighted) to +12 (longsighted), with specialist toric lenses also available to correct astigmatism up to 5.00D.
Another lens-based treatment is clear lens exchange (CLE) where the natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. This is the same procedure as for cataract surgery so having CLE treatment earlier in life pre-empts the likelihood of needing this very common procedure later in life.
“Because laser is so closely linked to eye surgery in people’s minds, some clinics have been reluctant to incorporate other technologies into their practice in order to position themselves as a leading laser clinic, but this is very limiting for those patients whose eyes are not suitable for laser,” commented AVC surgeon Professor Martin Filipec.
“Unlike the one-stop-shop laser clinics, AVC has fully embraced all new technologies which means it is able to find a solution for practically every refractive error.”
Laser treatment remains highly recommended for higher myopia or hyperopia, however. The latest generation of lasers, keratomes and femtosecond lasers has made LASIK considerably safer, making flap complications and induced aberrations rare these days.
“ICL treatment brings remarkable results for the widest range of refractive errors,” says Dr Helgason. “The Visian ICL brand of implantable contact lenses provides impressive predictability and excellent quality of vision, even with very high prescriptions.
“The fact that the procedure is reversible and that no tissue is removed seems to particularly appeal to patients. No stitches are needed and the 2mm incision in the cornea is self-sealing.
“Take it from the horse’s mouth,” he adds. “In 2004 I became a satisfied ICL patient myself which has most definitely increased the trust and popularity of this technology amongst our patients.”
For more information, visit: advancedvisioncare.co.uk