Every day, people use contact lenses to correct their refractive errors. While these corrective lenses may help patients see their environment more clearly, they can also be a hassle! Contact lenses can be expensive and difficult to maintain. Many contact lens users complain that their lenses prevent them from experiencing the active lifestyle that they desire; certain activities cause contact lenses to fall out, while certain environmental factors such as wind encourage dry, irritated eyes. Contact users dream of clear vision without their corrective lenses! But what about those that do not qualify for laser vision correction?
There is an answer for ophthalmic patients seeking clear vision and a lifestyle free of corrective lenses. Implantable contact lenses allow patients to see their environment clearly without the hassle of maintaining costly disposable lenses! Implantable contact lenses, also called ICLs, are implanted in the eye during a permanent vision correction procedure. This innovative procedure is able to change the lives of ophthalmic patients who are eligible! After these lenses are implanted, a patient with severe near sightedness can achieve perfect vision!
Implantable contact lenses can help patients achieve goals that were previously hindered by their vision impairment. Many activities, including biking, running, and golfing can be hindered by poor vision and irritating corrective lenses. Other patients are able to pursue careers that require perfect vision.
The implantation procedure is able to be performed quickly, and can be completed on a single eye in less than twenty minutes. During this vision correction surgery, a small incision is made in the eye; then an inflatable lens is inserted between the iris and the natural lens. Once the lens is inserted, the patient will never again have to worry about foggy glasses or losing a traditional contact lens during strenuous activity. This vision correction procedure is permanent, and the ICL will stay in place indefinitely.
Patients who undergo the ICL procedure will discover that there are several advantages to ICLs. The accuracy of ICL surgery is excellent! Enhancements or reoperations are very rare. Patients also recover very quickly from this surgery; some patients achieve full vision in only ten days! ICLs also have less visual side effects than laser vision correction. Glare and halos are not as common with implantable contact lenses because there is less aberration in the eye. Some studies even report that ICLs produce better night vision that other surgical alternatives.
The best candidates for ICLs will be patients between the ages of 21 and 45 who were not candidates for Lasik surgery due to dry eyes, severe myopia or nearsightedness, or thin corneas. Candidates will also be best suited if they have nearsightedness without astigmatism.