ICL risks and benefits analysis
ICL (Implantable Contact Lenses) surgery can be easy but at times there could be complications. We also need to compare ICL surgery with Lasik Surgery to understand which might work better.
BACKGROUND: According to the American Optometric Association, 30 percent of Americans suffer from nearsightedness. Implantable contact lenses offer these individuals a corrective option besides glasses, contact lenses and LASIK surgery. Implantable contact lenses, or phakic intraocular lenses (Phakic IOLs), are lenses made of plastic or silicone that are implanted permanently into the eye to correct refractive errors, or errors in the eye’s focusing ability. These lenses have been used on cataracts patients for many years, but have only recently been approved for correcting myopia and hyperopia. Phakic IOLs to correct nearsightedness received FDA approval in 2004.
BENEFITS: Besides the convenience of independence from glasses or contact lenses, phakic IOLs are advantageous for people who need vision correction that exceeds the safe range of laser surgery. In addition, phakic IOLs are removable if they don’t work out for the patient.
RISKS: Like LASIK, this surgery carries risks. Potential complications include permanent vision loss, visual symptoms like glare and halos, cataract development, increased intraocular pressure, cornea cloudiness and retinal detachment. According to the FDA, since they only recently approved the procedure, there may be other risks not yet discovered.
ICL SURGERY PROCEDURE: After local anaesthetic is administered to numb the eye’s surface, an incision is made in the eye. The phakic IOL is then inserted either in frontof or behind the iris. If necessary, the incision is closed with tiny stitches. The surgery takes about 30 minutes. After resting the day of surgery, most people can return to work the next day; however, eyesight may not stabilize completely for several weeks. According to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, a good candidate for the phakic IOL procedure is a nearsighted individual between the ages of 21 and 45. In addition, patients that have not undergone previous ophthalmic surgery and do not have a history of eye disease including iritis, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy are preferred.
