FDA Approved

Implantable Contact Lenses

For those unsuitable for Laser vision correction, an alternative could be the Artisan / Veriseyes or Implantable contact Lens (ICL) implants.

The STAAR ICL™ is an extra lens, similar to a contact lens. The difference is that the ICL is placed inside the eye, rather than on the surface of the eye. The lens is soft and tiny, much like the natural lens, but does not replace it. The ICL is specially shaped to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness. The Toric ICL™ also corrects nearsightedness with astigmatism. The lens works by changing the way light is focused on the retina. 

As the ICL is tiny and soft, it can be folded up so small that it can be injected into the eye in seconds through a tiny self sealing opening. Once injected, the ICL unfolds into position in the liquid between the iris and natural lens.ICL corrects the eyesight usually without any further treatment being necessary (the ICL can also be removed or replaced, if required, in another simple procedure).

The ICL is made of a unique material called Collamer®. Collamer is accepted by the eyes as not being a ‘foreign tissue’. This means that the body does not react or reject ICL as a foreign body. Other special features of Collamer are its optical clarity and the flexibility and elasticity that allow it to be folded up and then to recover its correct shape in the liquid inside the eye.

ICLs are intended to remain in place without maintenance. If it becomes necessary, for any reason, ICLs can be easily removed by trained surgeons.

Advantages of ICL Surgery

The ICL™ is capable of correcting near and farsightedness and astigmatism with extreme precision. Since the lens does not permanently alter any structures within the eye or on the cornea, it can easily be removed if necessary. 

The ICL is invisible and undetectable!

ICL treatment is completely safe if you have thin corneas, dry eyes, or large pupils, as it does not involve removing tissue from the cornea.

The advantages of the implant are the following:

• Reversible
• Rapid visual rehabilitation
• Excellent quality of vision
• Ability to correct high levels of correction, both for nearsightedness and farsightedness
• Ability to correct high levels of astigmatism
• Long track record

CLEAR LENS EXTRACTION

Clear lens extraction (CLE), also called refractive lens exchange (RLE), is the removal of a non-cataractous natural lens of the eye with or without intraocular lens placement as a refractive procedure.

It is an emerging procedure for the treatment of very high amounts of myopia (nearsightedness). This technique involves removing the crystalline lens from inside the eye.

For some patients, clear lens extraction may become a better option than LASIK. However, there is an increased risk of retinal detachment and other serious complications with CLE because it is an internal eye procedure (compared to LASIK, which affects only the cornea).

Patients who have CLE also lose all ability to change focus after the procedure, since the natural focusing mechanism is removed. Regardless of the patient's age, reading glasses are required after CLE surgery to see objects up close.

For extremely nearsighted individuals who cannot tolerate wearing contact lenses, CLE may be a viable option.

Conductive Keratoplasty – CK

Conductive Keratoplasty is abbreviated as CK and it is one of the newer types of refractive surgery available. It uses little heat from radio waves in order to shrink the collagen in area of the cornea. The collagen is a glue-like connective tissue. CK can be used to treat conditions like hyperopia or farsightedness and presbyopia or ageing ayes.

In a blended vision procedure, CK is performed on one eye in order to give sharper vision for images up close. The other eye is not treated. You will need coordinated vision in order to see properly at distances and clearly up close. Your eyes will continue to change as you grow older and you can have CK treatment anytime especially when your vision starts to worsen once more.

Here are some of the criteria used to assess whether a patient is fit for conductive keratoplasty

• You should be in a good level of health
• Patients who are more than forty years old
• Myopia can not be treated with CK
• Those who have had good vision during their life
• People who need reading glasses to make up for their blurry vision
• You must have good medical history which is free from eye infections like severe dryness, glaucoma, corneal dystrophy, and kerataconus
• If you have gone through a laser eye surgery in the past then you may have to wait for about six to nine months before you go through with a CK treatment
• Those with pacemakers can not go through with a CK procedure because this will interfere with it
• Your vision has to be stable. This means that there must not be a significant change in your distance prescriptions for the past two years
• You should not be pregnant or breastfeeding
• You should not be diabetic or depend on insulin

What is involved when one goes through a Conductive Keratoplasty procedure?

CK is also known as Ultra-CK and it is a procedure that makes the cornea steeper. A cool-tipped pen-shaped instrument is used to make the corneal tissue smaller. Radio wave energy is used in a circular pattern in the cornea area while the eyes are soothed with eye drops. This circular movement can be compared to tightening a belt. As a result, the cornea will have more curvature. This procedure is painless. People can return to their normal day to day activities after forty eight hours. Their vision will gradually improve after four weeks although there will already be significant improvements right away.

What are some of the side effects after a conductive keratoplasty procedure?

Some of the side effects that you may encounter after a CK procedure are the following

• over correction of your eyesight which may last for a couple of weeks
• glares and halos which can occur for around four weeks
• There may be fluctuation in your vision after the procedure is performed. You can recover quickly although you should not strain your eyes during this period
• your eyes may be extra sensitive to light so you may want to wear sunglasses
• The speculum is the area in your eye which keeps it open. Even if the CK procedure is painless, there will still be pressure in this area. You may feel discomfort in this area after the surgery for up to two days
• your eyes may feel dry for the first few days after the treatment

Caring for your eyes

Here are some tips that you should keep in mind after an eye surgery. Keep them in mind even for general eye care as well

• you should avoid exercising for a week in order to prevent sweat from dripping into the eye
• you should not get contaminated water in your eyes for the first week so avoid going to swimming pools, lakes, beaches, spas
• you should avoid getting soap in your eyes for at least one week after the procedure
• you should avoid make-up for a week after the surgery
• you should not rub your eyes for two weeks after surgery

As with all procedures, extensive planning is required and tests to ensure suitability. If this is an option, this will be explained to you at your consultation at Visual Aids Centre.