Implantable Contact Lens
An Alternative to LASIK…The Implantable Contact Lens (ICL)
For years, the only method of permanent vision correction that didn’t involve glasses or contact lenses was corrective laser eye surgery. With the advent of the ICL, however, that’s all changed. Now, you can enjoy high definition vision correction that’s sharper, clearer, more vivid, and has greater depth and dimension – in a simple, 15-minute outpatient procedure. Phakic intraocular lenses are lenses that are inserted into the eye and work with the natural lens. They have been used successfully to treat myopia, for over ten years. The lens has been successfully inserted in more than 1,55,000 eyes worldwide.
This ICL functions as a type of permanent contact lens that is maintenance free inside the eye. This implantable collier lens is easily placed in the eye through a small 3mm incision on the clear edge of the cornea. The lens is placed behind the iris, the colored part of the eye, and in front of the natural lens. The lens placement ensures that the lens is virtually undetectable by the patient or an observer. The lens will not move once it is in place and cannot be felt by the patient. The procedure takes only a few minutes and patients have good vision an hour or two after surgery without glasses or contact lenses. The ICL is designed to be permanently placed in the eye, but can be removed or replaced, if needed.
The “Wow” Factor
When compared to the results of other corneal refractive surgery, the ICL may produce superior vision quality as evidenced by fewer higher order aberrations. After the simple 15-minute outpatient procedure, patients experience an immediate improvement in vision quality and the only word they say is “Wow”.
Benefits of ICL
One of the most common concerns that people have about corneal laser surgery is that the procedure permanently changes the eye, and what will happen if a complication arises. One of the important advantages of the ICL is that while it can permanently correct your vision, in the unlikely event that an ICL patient experiences negative side effects after surgery, the lens can be removed and/or replaced if necessary. Also, concerns involving the cornea typically do not apply to the ICL, as no natural tissue is removed or changed (reshaped) in any way during ICL implantation.
