Refractive lens exchange

Laser vision correction surgery can be considered at any age. For patients over fifty however, laser surgery is not always the best option. It is often better to choose refractive lens exchange. This is a particularly good choice for patients whom have lost the ability to accommodate the need for glasses to read as well as see in the distance.

There are lenses that can be implanted that enable near and distance vision.

LaserVision offers a comprehensive range of bespoke lens treatment options. In simple terms, this means that each patient benefits from new, personalised lenses, which provide the best and most accurate correction for their vision.

Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is most commonly favoured by patients who are in their mid to late forties onwards and who are beginning to suffer from the natural aging process that affects their eyesight. It involves the replacement of the natural lens in the eye, with a new mono-focal, multi-focal or pseudo-accommodative intra-ocular lens implant (IOL).

It is only during the past decade that multi-focus lenses have begun to make a significant impact in treating vision correction. Prior to this lens implants were fixed-focus, which gave patients clear distance vision, but meant they still needed to wear reading glasses.

Replacement lens exchange can deliver multi-focal vision, meaning that following treatment, patients may have clear vision up close, at intermediate distances and at far distance. It may eliminate the need for bifocals or reading glasses.

The lens exchange procedure takes around fifteen minutes and is virtually painless. As with LASIK treatment, it is usually performed under local or topical anaesthetic. Patients return home the same day of their treatment and most see an immediate improvement in their vision.

Most patients will have their second eye treated within a couple of weeks and it is following this that the most dramatic results are seen.

Some (approximately 10%) patients require further fine-tuning of their vision following their RLE treatment with Excimer Laser to obtain the best possible results. This is performed quickly and painlessly with a laser procedure called Bioptics.

Whether a patient is suitable for RLE depends on a number of factors including lifestyle, vision prescription and the condition of the eye.

If you are interested in finding out more about replacement lens exchange and your suitability, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange a consultation, free of charge.

Lens Types

Very subtle differences in lens design mean that some perform better in certain circumstances than others and that is why accurate measurements and an in-depth consultation is needed prior to the procedure to ascertain which lenses or combination of lenses best suit you and your lifestyle.

There are several types of lens and these are namely; monofocal, multifocal (also called bifocal), accommodative, toric for the correction of astigmatism and phakic lenses. Sometimes combining lenses is necessary and it may even be necessary to have lenses specially made.