Who is Lens Replacement Surgery for?

Are you a good candidate for Lens Replacement Surgery?

If you are more than 40 years old, use reading, bifocal or varifocal glasses or contact lenses of any prescription, have otherwise healthy eyes and good general health, then you are an excellent candidate for Lens Replacement Surgery. Long-sightedness, short-sightedness and astigmatism can all be corrected at the same time as your presbyopia.

If you enjoy good sight for distance or for near without glasses you may be a good candidate for one of our pioneeringLens Replacement techniques called Mono Multivision.

Lens Replacement Surgery Preparation

Your decision to have Lens Replacement Surgery should be a positive and informed decision based on an accurate assessment of the potential risks and benefits specific to your case.

You should fully inform yourself as to the clinical reasons behind your treatment, the predictability of the procedure’s results and the timescales involved. The first step in the Lens Replacement Surgery Preparation is to arrange a consultation.

An expert ophthalmic surgeon trained in the practice of refractive surgery and the diagnosis of corneal disorders should always carry out this consultation.

This examination should include:

1. Refraction – A check on the focus of the eye.

2. Scanning Slit Corneal Topography – A map of the corneal shape and power.

3. Corneal Pachymetry – A measurement of corneal thickness.

4. Pupillometry – A measurement of the size of your pupil in the dark.

5. Keratometry – A measurement of corneal power; this data is useful if you end up needing a cataract operation in the future.

6. Dilated examinations of the retina – i.e. after drops are instilled to dilate the pupil so that the back of the eye can be clinically assessed also.

7. Wavefront Scan – This is a measurement of the focussing error of the eye which is much more sensitive and personalised. When the treatment is carried out using these measurements it is called wavefront based laser correction. A standard laser treatment is one which uses the spectacle prescription. The visual results are generally better with wavefront based treatments, provided the wavefront measurements used meet a set of quality criteria. If the wavefront measurement is of poor quality, better results are obtained using the glasses prescription.

Using contact lenses can produce inaccurate corneal measurements. It is critical to have a contact lens-free period prior to these measurements. This period is ideally a week for soft contact lens and four weeks for rigid gas-permeable lens users.

Lens Replacement Surgery Process

Before Surgery

The first stage of the Lens Replacement Surgery process is to have a comprehensive evaluation of the optical system of the eye carried out. This includes refraction, scanning slit corneal topography, pachymetry, keratometry and pupillometry. Almost all eyes have a combination of focusing errors. and it is important to correct as many as possible in order to achieve the best quality of vision after surgery.

At this stage of the Lens Replacement Surgery process, an individual risk benefit assessment is carried and the decision to carry out surgery is confirmed. Based on this evaluation, an individual surgical plan is designed to achieve the best possible vision for distance and near without glasses or contact lenses. This surgical plan is analogous to an optical prescription, and can be thought of as a surgical prescription to correct the focusing errors of the eye.

During Surgery

The Lens Replacement Surgery is normally carried out using a no-injection local anaesthetic technique. Some patients choose to have a short general anaesthetic.

A 2.5 mm incision is made and the natural lens is removed using an ultrasound probe called a phacoemulsifier. The outer shell or capsule of the natural lens is used to encase the new intraocular lens. The intraocular lens is a special folding lens, which is inserted and unfolded within the natural lens capsule. This way the new plastic lens has a natural covering and sits in the correct physiological position within the eye. The incision is constructed like a valve, sealing itself without stitches. A protective plastic shield is taped to the eye and patients recover within a few hours and go home the same day.

After Surgery

Most patients are up and about as soon as they are back from surgery. The eye can feel a bit scratchy and light-sensitive for a few hours. There are no restrictions on normal daily activities and there is usually a significant change in vision by 24 to 48 hours after surgery.

The eye settles down and heals gradually over the next 4 weeks. Eye drops are prescribed for 4 weeks. The second eye is operated on after the first eye has settled down and usually within 2 to 4 weeks.

Visual Recovery

Visual recovery starts within the first 24 hours and continues for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery. Depending on the intraocular lens used it can take your visual system up to 3 months or more to adapt completely to the new improved vision.

The final focus of the eye depends not just on the surgery but also on the way the eye heals. This healing process is variable and sometimes can result in a suboptimal focus. In these rare cases a second enhancement operation is carried out to fine-tune the focus. This enhancement surgery can involve insertion of an additional intraocular lens, exchanging the intraocular lens, astigmatism correction incisions or laser surgery.

Getting Started

The first step in the Lens Replacement Surgery Process is to attend a consultation so that your eyes can be examined and your suitability assessed for treatment. Click here to request a FREE Suitability Assessment at Vision Surgery, or call the centre on 01482 339 515.

Louth Lady Golfers

Mrs Clark said “I tried contact lenses but couldn’t get on with them so I went to see Mr Pande and the rest is history. Now, I’ve got my good eyesight back again and I’m thrilled.”