Eye Surgery ~ Artificial Lens Implants!
Phakic lens implants, surgically inserted contact lenses, are the latest technology for delivering your best possible vision. Phakic lens implants offer almost unlimited potential to correct refractive errors (nearsightedness and farsightedness). By implanting a lens inside the eye, the need for glasses or contact lenses is virtually eliminated.
The phakic lens implant is unique in that the thin IOL (intra-ocular lens) is placed inside the eye without removing the natural lens, as is required in cataract surgery. Given that the natural lens of the eye is not removed, the phakic IOL simply enhances rather than replaces the natural lens, allowing the retention of your natural ability to visually accommodate for near, midrange and far focusing tasks.
Eye Surgery ~
Artificial Lens Implants
Imagine your life without contact lenses to wash, no glasses to remember, perfect vision without the risks of LASIK or other laser eye surgeries.
Surgically implanted intraocular lenses, called "Phakic IOLs", are a breakthrough new option for people seeking a permanent correction of common vision errors, such as myopia (nearsightedness).
These lens implants work like a contact lens inside the eye, and are placed between the clear front covering of the eye (cornea) and the iris (colored portion of the eye), or sometimes just behind the iris.
Phakic intraocular lenses are similar in size and design to those used in cataract surgery. However, these lens implants are placed inside of eyes that still have their natural lenses, unlike in cataract surgery where the IOL replaces a natural lens that has turned cloudy (a cataract).
The eye's refraction needs to be stable for at least six months before performing phakic IOL implantation surgery. Once implanted, phakic IOL's cannot be felt in the eye, and there is no maintenance required at all. These lenses will last your entire lifetime. If your vision changes after implantation, this can be corrected with glasses, removal of the lens entirely, or replacement of the lens with a different prescription.
What are the advantages of phakic IOLs over LASIK?
Phakic IOLs provide a highly predictable alteration in vision, unlike other refractive surgeries that rely on the healing process to result in the final refractive state. Phakic IOLs almost always meet or exceed the best vision achievable using eyeglasses or contacts, a result not always achieved with LASIK or other surgeries. Because of the stability of the artificial lens, the results do not regress over time, as is sometimes seen with LASIK and LTK. For several types of lenses, the surgical process is closely related to cataract surgery, so with only minor adjustments eye surgeons are already experienced in the implant procedure. Additionally, this surgery keeps the cornea and lens in its natural state, allowing the process to be reversed if necessary.
One of the most significant benefits of this surgery is the ability to treat with equal efficiency mild to severe nearsightedness and farsightedness, even to a refractive error that requires correction in the 10 to 20 diopter range. This is beyond what is recommended for treatment using LASIK or other laser based surgeries. Thus, eye surgeons are especially considering implantable lenses for their patients when other vision correction procedures aren't a good option, such as in cases of thin corneas or myopia between -3.00 diopters and -20.00. With some patients receiving phakic IOLs, LASIK may be used as a follow-up to refine vision correction.
Risks of Phakic Lens Implantation
As with any surgical procedure, complications are rare but can occur following implantation of phakic IOLs. There is a slightly increased chance of retinal detachment, loss of cells in the thin layer covering the cornea (epithelium), inflammation, infection, and cataracts. Because phakic IOLs represent a relatively new technology, long-term effects and potential risks of lens implantation are unknown.
Coming Soon Near You!
The implantation of artificial intraocular lenses (IOLs) in the eye has been a part of cataract surgery for many years. Phakic IOLs are already available in other countries; it is relatively recent that trials have begun in the United States. FDA trails are currently underway of phakic IOLs for the correction of high myopia and hyperopia in eyes without cataracts. Several of these trials are nearing completion, with some of them closed to further participants, and FDA approval of several types of phakic IOLs is anticipated in the very near future.
Look for phakic IOLs in the U.S. to include foldable styles that
can be implanted through tiny incisions, which least disturbs the
eye and encourages the best possible refractive outcome. Research
also continues on multifocal phakic IOLs that potentially could
correct presbyopia (defects in the ability to simultaneously
focus near, middle, and distant ranges) similar to the functionality
of multifocal eyeglasses and contact lenses.