Reduce Your Glasses Use Through Refractive Lens Exchange
Refractive Lens Exchange and Phakic IOLS
Are you tired of wearing glasses?
If you’re over 40 and are experiencing the onset of presbyopia or more commonly known as the need for reading glasses, you’re not alone. Most people experience it over the age of 40, regardless of how good their prior vision was.
As we age, the lens of our eye becomes more rigid, and therefore cannot flex as well as before. This results in the all-too-common ‘squinting,’ and arm lengthening needed to focus on objects up close. Eventually, you will need reading glasses to see these items clearly.
Fortunately, there now exists options that safely and permanently restores your vision and dramatically reduces your need for glasses for good. Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE), is a procedure that is identical to cataract surgery, where the natural lens of your eye is replaced with a special type of ‘premium’ artificial intraocular lens (IOL).
One type of IOL, called a ‘multifocal IOL,’ is engineered to provide near, intermediate, and far vision. Essentially, it is identical to wearing a permanent contact lens within your eye.
Anyone over the age of 40 who wears glasses or contacts and who is experiencing the onset of presbyopia is a candidate. In some cases, people under 40 are eligible if they have high glasses prescriptions or trouble wearing contacts.
- Patients who are experiencing the early onset of cataracts and wear glasses and wish to have surgery before the cataract worsens and become glasses independent
- Patients who are experiencing the early onset of cataracts and wish to have surgery before the cataract worsens
- People under the age of 40 who have strong glasses prescriptions and either cannot have LASIK or want a better alternative to LASIK.
Refractive Lens Exchange and Cataract Surgery are PERMANENT solutions to blurry vision, unlike LASIK which is TEMPORARY.
If you’re having trouble with daily activities without wearing on your glasses or contacts, maybe it’s time you consider an advanced vision correction option like Refractive Lens Exchange. The professionals at The Eye Associates of Brazos Valley are experienced and well versed in all the latest in multifocal IOL and CLEAR technology.
Phakic Intraocular Lens (PIOL)
No two eyes are exactly alike, and a thorough consultation is necessary to determine your candidacy for a vision correction treatment such as Refractive Lens Exchange. Schedule a complimentary examination and consultation today to learn which option is right for you.
Single Focus Lens without Correcting High Order Aberrations
Traditional monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) provide great vision at one single distance, but do not correct for any other eye condition such as astigmatism or “higher order aberrations.” These are the visual errors that cause things such as glare and halos, and poor vision in low light. If you suffer from any of these issues before you undergo a lens replacement surgery, you will still have to deal with them after surgery, unless you choose the Acrysof Aspheric IOL.
Monofocal Lens Implants - AcrySof® Aspheric IOL
The Acrysof Aspheric IOL is designed using wavefront technology. This technology essentially maps out your eye in 3D imagery and incorporates this data into the design of the lens. The result is a lens that resembles the natural optics of your eye. This lens will provide you with better overall vision than traditional IOLs, especially at night.
- Improved contrast sensitivity
- Better color perception
- Enhanced functional vision
- Superior night driving ability
At Eye Associates of Brazos Valley, we offer the Acrysof Aspheric IOL as part of our CLEAR™ replacement program. This means that patients who choose this lens will receive a thorough analysis of their visual health and acuity, including wavefront 3D mapping.
Patients will then have the option of choosing to have their distance vision perfected, or varying degrees of monovision that manipulates the prescription of both eyes to try and provide correction at several distances, near and far.
This option takes into account the full analysis of your visual system and provides you with a customized treatment plan intended to provide you with superior vision at medium and long distances. Patients can expect to have dramatically enhanced distance vision with spectacular clarity and improved visibility in low light conditions. This option will reduce your dependence on glasses, but you will still need to wear readers to view small print.
Monovision describes a procedure in which one eye has a lens inserted with a prescription that corrects your distance vision, and the other with a lens that corrects for your close up vision. For most patients, the result is vision that is spectacularly clear, especially in low light, and the ability to see things at a distance as well as up close. The goal of this procedure is to dramatically reduce or even eliminate your need for glasses whatsoever.
For some people, monovision feels uncomfortable. Before we pursue any surgical monovision option, we will fit you with special contact lenses that simulate what your vision will be like. It’s essentially a ‘test-drive’ of your vision. That way, you will know from experience whether or not monovision is right for you.
Schedule a complimentary examination to learn more about the amazing premium lens technology offered at Eye Associates of Brazos Valley.
AcrySof® Aspheric Toric IOL
Astigmatism is an eye condition that causes blurred vision due to an irregularly shaped cornea. The cornea is the outer part of the eye where light first passes through before entering the lens. In people with astigmatism, their corneas are shaped more like a football than a baseball, and this irregularity prevents the light rays from focusing and blurry vision occurs.
Astigmatism requires a specific type of corrective lens to view things clearly. In the past, cataract surgery or Refractive Lens Exchange couldn’t fix any astigmatism that was present prior to the surgery. Glasses were always necessary after surgery for patients with astigmatism. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. There now exists exciting new lens technology that can permanently correct astigmatism.
Called Toric IOLs, these lenses are designed with a specific shape that counterbalances the irregularity that causes the astigmatism in the first place. Thanks to their unique design, Toric IOLs refocus these light rays together as they pass through the lens. The result is a permanent correction of your astigmatism, which provides tremendous clarity of visions.
This lens is a wonderful option for anyone over 40 who suffers from astigmatism. At Eye Associates of Brazos Valley, we use Toric lenses in two manners: for clear distance vision as well as monovision for reading. 1. Distance/Modified Monovision 2. True Monovision
Patients who elect this option will undergo a full vision analysis, and Toric lenses that are engineered to provide you with superior distance and intermediate vision will be inserted into your eye. This procedure will eliminate any astigmatism and give you clear distance vision. You will not need to wear glasses for most normal activities, but you will need to wear glasses for up-close viewing tasks such as reading.
With CLEAR™ True Toric Monovision, each Toric IOL has a separate prescription. One for distance inserted into your dominant eye and one for near inserted into your other eye. The result is the ability to see clearly both up close and at a distance, for a result that could eliminate your astigmatism, as well as leave you free of glasses for most activities.
Worried that you might not like this option? Don’t. Anyone considering monovision implants is first fitted with special contact lenses to simulate what the final result will be. That way, the result can be fine tuned to your liking, or if it feels uncomfortable, a new option can be pursued.
Schedule a complimentary examination to learn more about the amazing premium lens technology offered at Eye Associates of Brazos Valley.
Multifocal IOLs - Much Better Than LASIK
Enjoy a Life Free of Glasses and Contact Lenses
Can you remember what it was like to live without the worry or frustration of glasses and contacts? Well thanks to multifocal IOLs, you can enjoy your lifestyle worry-free because freedom from glasses is now finally possible.
It used to be that traditional cataract surgery was only performed using a monofocal intraocular lens. While still highly effective, this lens is designed to only give a person clear vision at one distance. The patient is still required to wear glasses for most normal activities, including reading, and to correct for other problems such as astigmatism.
Fortunately, lens technology has come a long way in recent years, with the development of several types of advanced ‘premium IOLs’ designed to reduce or eliminate the need for corrective lenses permanently after surgery. These lenses represent countless hours of research and development and are poised to become the next standard for care of everyone. Used in both advanced cataract surgery and Refractive Lens Exchange, these lenses are engineered to provide patients with clear vision at multiple focal points, with the overall goal of complete freedom from glasses.
While there are multiple premium lenses available today, the Eye Associates of Brazos Valley specializes in the implantation of the Restor® Multifocal IOL in all of our patients looking to recover a full range of vision and be completely free from glasses and contacts.
Multifocal IOLs are lenses that are engineered for viewing objects at various distances: far vision, medium or intermediate vision, and reading vision. This lens replaces the natural lens and functions something like a permanent trifocal contact lens, only better.
At the Eye Associates of Brazos Valley, our preferred multifocal IOL is the Acrysof ReSTOR. This IOL is ideal for cataract patients who currently wear glasses to correct for nearsightedness or farsightedness, as well as presbyopia, or the need for reading glasses as we age.
This lens is also recommended for Refractive Lens Exchange patients looking for a life free of both glasses and contacts. A surgical patient who receives treatment with the Restor Multifocal IOL can expect to have excellent distance and intermediate vision, as well as great vision up close for viewing small objects such as threading a needle or any reading materials. Surgeries utilizing lens implants, including the ReSTOR IOL, create visual results that are far superior to LASIK surgery. LASIK will only allow clear vision at only one distance in anyone over the age of 40, and even that is temporary. Multifocal lens surgery gives clear vision at all distances, and it’s permanent!
We at Eye Associates of Brazos Valley are happy to inform you that nearly all of our patients who choose the Restor® multifocal IOL for their procedure are now living a life that is entirely free from glasses!
These premium lens procedures are the most recent major advancement in eye care and represent an exciting opportunity for anyone over the age of 40 to reduce or eliminate glasses and contacts permanently. Proper patient evaluation is essential in order to determine which patients are good candidates for the ReSTOR IOL. For those who are not candidates, the Eye Associates of Brazos Valley does offer advanced monofocal IOL surgeries that can decrease dependency on glasses and contacts and in some cases eliminate them entirely as well.