Lens Implants | Lens Replacement

Eye Conditions

Modern alternatives are available for the treatment of the following eye conditions:

Patients with severe myopia and hyperopia can, as a result of the latest technological changes, reduce their dependency on spectacles and contact lenses.
It is important to note that both the cornea and the natural lens of the eye are used to create a clear focus of an object on the retina. As we grow older the ability of the eye to create a clear picture of what we see deteriorates. This is very often referred to as presbyopia which means that the eye looses its ability to ‘accommodate’. Advanced surgical alternatives are available to correct the effect of presbyopia.
Alternatives exist for patients who suffer from significant astigmatism. These patients can now consider various options in order to improve their vision.

Traditional Alternatives To Lens Implants

Various methods are used to improve the vision of patients. The more traditional methods are: reading glasses, bifocals, multi-focals and various types of contact lenses. Over the last two decades, laser procedures such as LASIK have been used to improve vision by reshaping the cornea of the eye. These procedures have helped mainly patients below the age of 45 to see better. Two key elements which need to be taken into consideration are:

Laser surgery is not a suitable alternative for every patient. Depending on the ‘thickness’ of the cornea as well as the ‘shape’ of the cornea an experienced ophthalmologist will inform the patient of the suitability of his or her eyes for laser or any other form of refractive surgery.
Laser surgery is permanent and once done, cannot be removed.

Innovative Alternatives

It must be noted that in many instances clear vision is not necessarily lost as a result of age but can be achieved through innovation and the application of the latest surgical technology.

A substantial portion of the lens implants which are performed today are in fact a new technology based on ‘cataract’ surgery, a well proven surgical procedure. Every year in the world today millions of people undergo cataract surgery, in which the natural lens of the eye is replaced with an artificial lens. Intra-ocular lens implant surgery uses the same and similar surgical techniques which are required for cataract surgery.

Different Types Of Lens Implants

Synthetic lenses are either implanted into the eye in addition to the eye’s natural lens, or they replace the eye’s natural lenses.

Lens implants, which are frequently used today, can be catagorised into two main sections namely those where the natural lens of the eye is retained and those where the natural lens of the eye is replaced. The first category is very often referred to as ‘PHAKIC’ or ‘Implantable Contact Lenses also known as (ICL’s)'.