Phakic IOLs, An Alternative For Those Not Suitable For LASIK Surgery

LASIK is a secure and precise way of achieving freedom from eyeglasses or contacts. There tend to be however a small portion of subjects who regrettably are unsuitable for laser eye surgery. In general, those individuals are either too myopic (shortsighted) and fall outside the solution possible with LASIK, have overly thin corneas, or have atypically shaped corneas (keratoconus). Patients' eyesight can sometimes be made worse yet if medicated with LASIK in these circumstances, but conscientious pre-operative assessment detects them.

In circumstances where the affected individual has too high a amount of myopia (shortsightedness) but still have a regularly shaped cornea, the most appropriate treatment is the implantation of a Phakic Intra-ocular Lens or Cachet lens. This approach only takes 10 minutes long, is pain free and the patient can see well the day after. It offers the ability to repair even the most serious myopia absolutely. There has also been more than 10 years follow-up on this lens to analyze safety and efficacy, that displays excellent long-term stability and safety. The lens can not correct for astigmatism, accordingly some patients undergo a ‘bioptics’ procedure in which fine-tuning of the eyesight is achieved with a very small laser touch-up.



If the corneal shape is unnatural or the patient has sizeable astigmatism, the most suitable choice of procedure is an ICL (Intra-ocular Contact Lens) implantation. An ICL can help remedy astigmatism and also either myopia (shortsighted) or hyperopia (longsighted). A modern study researched quality of vision in high myopia (> -8 diopters) and found it was better in patients who had an ICL implantation compared to Laser vision correction. With the Intra-ocular Contact Lens, over 95% of patients are able to see at the vision standard necessary for driving or even better, and simple, quick enhancement procedures can be performed for many patients who do not initially meet this standard. There tends to be around a 1.7% chance of forming a cataract which in those scenarios is a quick correction regardless by undertaking a cataract extraction / Intra-ocular Lens Implantation. This cataract / lens implantation is generally the only viable alternative to an ICL regardless.

This thrilling cutting edge technology of Phakic IOL Implantation is a thrilling improvement, offering independence from eyeglasses and contact lenses in individuals who might by no means be able to achieve this otherwise, in a safe, quick and pain-free procedure with recovery of vision after only 1 day.

James Genge is a trusted ophthalmic surgeon from Sydney. Feel free to ask him any questions relating to Laser Eye Surgery or other eye health issues on his website at Laser Eye Surgery Sydney.