When laser vision correction is not possible
Many patients looking for an alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses hear in eye doctors’ offices that they do not qualify for laser vision correction surgery. However, this diagnosis does not close the way for phakic lens surgery – a special artificial flexible lens implanted between the iris and the natural lens. The name of this modern artificial lens comes from the Greek word phakos (lens). It uses collamer[Collamer (ILC)]-a biocompatible material created from collagen. It is very well tolerated by the eye.
Phakic lens implantation is a solution aimed primarily at patients with high myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism. Phakic lenses, on the other hand, do not correct presbyopia, which is the loss of the eye’s ability to accommodate caused by the gradual hardening and reduction of the lens’ own elasticity associated with its physiological wear.
Qualifying tests for the procedure include:
Eye defects that prevent laser vision correction are primarily:
- Some corneal lesions: corneal cone, too thin cornea, congenital corneal pathologies, dystrophic diseases, corneal scars
- too high a visual defect: myopia above – 8-10 diopters and farsightedness above +4 diopters
- astigmatism difficult to treat
The aforementioned vision defects are said to be beyond the reach of the laser. Phakic lens implantation frees the patient from vision problems once and for all. It’s a safe, fast and stable method of correction that is fully reversible – should the need arise, the artificial lens can simply be removed.
It is worth emphasizing again that phakic lens implantation does not involve the removal of the natural lens. The artificial lens is implanted in the eye with a translucent natural lens (i.e., a lens that is not cloudy, such as in cataracts, and retains its physiological properties), providing excellent quality of vision. The patient no longer needs to wear corrective glasses or contact lenses after phakic lens implantation.