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Phakic IOL/Implantable Contact Lenses in Rochester
Phakic Intraocular Lenses

What's the most irritating part of wearing contact lenses? Scouring the bathroom floor on hands and knees for a runaway lens? Waking from a nap to find that you forgot to take them out and now your eyes are dry and sore? The monotonous cleaning routine?

Now surgically implanted, permanent contact lenses that never need to be removed or cleaned may solve these problems.

Implantable contact lenses, also known as phakic intraocular lenses (IOLs), hold promise as potentially powerful refractive tools with almost unlimited potential to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness. The clear, oblong implants are about the size of the tip of your pinky and are made of the same plastic used in replacement lenses for patients with cataracts. With phakic IOLs, your Rochester eye surgeon doesn’t have to reshape the cornea. Instead, your Rochester eye surgeon cuts a tiny slit in it and injects a lens that can completely correct the vision problem.

During a phakic IOL procedure, a thin intraocular lens implant is placed in the eye without removing the natural lens of the eye. The lens unfolds inside the eye in one of three places, either in front of the iris, behind it or secured to it. Given that the natural lens of the eye is not removed, the patient retains the natural focusing capability of the eye for near focusing tasks. Phakic IOL procedures are being used on severely nearsighted and farsighted patients who may not be candidates for the more common laser procedures such as PRK , LASEK, and LASIK. Unlike laser vision correction procedures that permanently change your vision, it is possible to remove phakic IOLs.

Phakic IOLs are for those who:

• want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on reading glasses or bifocals
• are extremely nearsighted or farsighted
• have had a stable eye prescription for at least one year
• have no health issues affecting their eyes

What to expect on surgery day
You will arrive at the surgery center about an hour prior to your procedure. Once you have been checked in you may be offered a sedative to help you relax. You will then be prepared for surgery. The area around your eyes will be cleaned and a sterile drape may be applied around your eye. Powerful eye drops or a local anesthetic will be used to numb your eyes. When your eye is completely numb, your Rochester eye surgeon will place an eyelid holder between your eyelids to keep you from blinking during the procedure.

Next, your Rochester eye surgeon will make a very small incision and then will insert the intra-ocular lens. The small incision will bond itself using the natural outward pressure in your eye, without the need for stitches. The phakic IOL procedure is very quick, typically taking less than 20 minutes. There also is a short recovery time. The results of the surgery are almost immediate, however your vision will probably be a little blurry from the anesthesia, so someone will need to drive you home. You should relax for the rest of the day. You may experience some discomfort, but this is usually alleviated with an over-the-counter pain reliever. Most patients resume normal activities within a day or two.

Results
Early phakic IOL studies found that 92 percent of patients gained vision of 20/30 or better within a month. Vision of 20/20 is considered excellent, while 20/40 is the cutoff for driving a car without wearing corrective lenses.

Serious complications from phakic IOLs are extremely rare, but like any surgical procedure, it does have some risks. Besides infection, possible complications include inflammation, increased pressure in the eye and cataracts. Earlier studies have shown that all of these are rare, and the plastic used to make the implants has a 50-year track record of safe use in the body.

Phakic IOL surgery is considered a relatively new procedure and FDA approval for use in the US is still pending. Even though the concept has been around since the 1950s, Phakic IOLs are currently being investigated in clinical trials around the world. Right now they are still in clinical trials, even though the concept has been around since the 1950s. If the FDA approves them now, they could provide a new view on life for the roughly 6 million people whose vision is so bad that other refractive surgery procedures can’t correct it. Ophthalmologists say the results from this technique are so outstanding that it may push other surgical procedures aside.

The breakthrough technique of phakic IOLs could help you have
clearer vision without the hassles of temporary contact lenses.

For more information on what IOL and other vision correction
procedures can do for you, Contact a Rochester eye surgeon

Schedule a LASIK consultation with a Rochester eye doctor

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