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Refractive lens replacement gives great opportunities to correct vision defects, and most importantly – in a safe and minimally invasive way. Find out what a refractive lens replacement is and who might be a good choice.
Your eyesight is not perfect? Don’t worry, you are not alone. One of the latest studies by the medical journal The Lancet found that as many as 36 million people worldwide are blind, 216 million have moderate to severe visual impairments, and 188 million suffer from mild visual impairment. [1] Fortunately, thanks to tremendous advances in ophthalmic surgery, many options for vision correction are now available, and one of the increasingly popular treatments for reaction defects is refractive lens replacement.
Refractive lens replacement – vision correction for the XNUMXst century
Refractive lens exchange (RLE Refractive Lens Exchange or CLE Clear Lens Extraction) is a procedure consisting in replacing the natural lens of the eye with a certain type of implant, an artificial lens made of silicone or a material specially created for this purpose – most often hydrophobic acrylic. The artificial intraocular lens is a permanent replacement for the natural lens and is designed to last for the rest of your life.
The RLE surgical technique is a variant of the standard cataract surgery, but it effectively corrects defects and solves other problems affecting the quality of vision, including myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism. The refractive lens replacement procedure is virtually identical to the cataract surgery. The difference is that in RLE, the replaced lens is transparent, not cloudy due to cataracts.
Interestingly, the concept of replacing clear lenses dates back to the 1776th century, when Abbé Desmonceaux was the first to perform such an operation in France in 2. [XNUMX] Currently, thanks to the enormous development of ophthalmology, this procedure is a chance for almost every person who wants to become independent from glasses or contact lenses.
Who is a good candidate for refractive lens replacement?
Refractive lens replacement will definitely not be a good choice for anyone who wants to become independent from eyeglass vision correction – it is an option that should be considered with a specialist.
People with presbyopia after 40 years of age will benefit from RLE in particular. superimposed on previously existing vision defects – farsightedness, myopia, astigmatism, which makes the correction with glasses or contact lenses very difficult.
The RLE treatment is recommended primarily to people:
- after 40 years of age,
- with high visual impairments and presbyopia,
- which for various reasons, such as e.g. a thin cornea or dry eye syndrome, are disqualified for laser vision correction surgery. [3]
The undeniable benefit of refractive lens replacement is also the avoidance of cataract development and future cataract surgery. There is no risk that the intraocular lens will become cloudy and cataracts will develop – a disease that affects almost 60 percent of people. people over 60 years of age
Refractive lens replacement – what does the procedure look like?
The refractive lens replacement procedure is quick, painless, extremely effective and has a very low risk of complications. Lens replacement is performed on one eye at a time, usually one or two weeks apart, to maximize the safety of the procedure. RLE surgery takes less than 30 minutes and is performed on an outpatient basis as part of the so-called surgery. one day. Local anesthesia is used during the procedure, thanks to which it is completely painless (there may be only slight discomfort), and most people confirm the improvement in vision after 24 hours. Occasionally, after the procedure, initial photosensitivity may occur and the initial noticeable effect of light diffusion may occur – this phenomenon may occur after all procedures aimed at removing the vision defect, but it is temporary and completely reversible. [5]
Many people may wonder what the healing of the eye looks like after surgery – the incision of the cornea during refractive lens replacement is so small that no sutures are needed – the eye will heal naturally. You can return to everyday activities the day after the procedure, but it is recommended that you give up a few weeks after replacing the lens, e.g. from intense sports activities.
As with any surgery, RLE has certain risks that you should discuss with your ophthalmologist. Various eye diseases, including macular degeneration, may be a contraindication to RLE. Before qualifying for refractive lens replacement, a specialist ophthalmological examination is necessary, during which the patient’s condition is checked and the appropriate lens is selected. The qualification is always decided by the doctor who takes into account all the pros and cons of performing the RLE procedure.
Types of intraocular lenses
As is the case with glasses or contact lenses, also in the case of RLE, the patient can choose a lens that suits his individual needs. The choice of lens should be made on the basis of an analysis of the patient’s activity and lifestyle as well as his expectations regarding the quality of vision after the procedure.
RLE usually includes trifocal lenses – ensuring good vision near, far and intermediate distances, and trifocal toric lenses, which additionally correct astigmatism. Specialists recommend choosing those that have been registered in this indication, because thanks to this we can be sure that their effectiveness and safety have been confirmed by appropriate clinical observations. Such trifocal lenses are AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® and AcrySof IQ PanOptix® Toric (for astigmatism correction) by Alcon, which provide good near-distance vision and intermediate distances (60 cm), without the need to wear glasses. [6]
Another new addition from Alcon is the AcrySof® IQ Vivity lens and the AcrySof® IQ Vivity Toric lens – the first of its kind non-diffractive lens with extended depth of field to correct presbyopia, ensuring very good distance and intermediate vision, as well as functional near vision. At the same time, it minimizes the risk of unwanted photo-optical phenomena such as halos around light sources or glare – the risk of these phenomena is greater in the case of trifocal lenses.
Intraocular lenses made of AcrySof® have been clinically tested and are distinguished by very good biocompatibility. Thanks to their properties and structure, they facilitate safe implantation of the lens and remain stable in the eye throughout their life. In addition, the UV filter and blue light filter protect the retina from high-energy light, thus reducing the risk of late AMD progression. [7]
More about refractive lens replacement at www.panoptix.pl
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