LASIK’s been discussed, but has anyone had lens implants?

Steve Austin *

Kudos. One of the greatest shows ever *

Are ortho-k lenses a possibility?

You wear them overnight and then no lenses during the day.

I doubt it…they were never mentioned and I’m trying to avoid

having to deal with contacts, hence the surgery. Every year they seem to bother me more and more. I suspect that wearing contacts consistently for so many years hasn’t been so good for my eyes.

Visian ICLs are great if you are not a LASIK candidate

That being said, it all depends on each individual what the best treatment would be. I would ask why the doctor feels you are at higher risk for developing keratoconus. Some people have early keratoconus (which makes LASIK basically contraindicated). Others just might have some mild corneal irregularity that could be keratoconus or maybe something else that further testing could help with. Bottom line is that Visian ICLs have some great advantages over LASIK—no removal of corneal tissue, better contrast sensitivity and probably better overall vision, and the option of removal if there is a major issue. They also have significant disadvantages by comparison—usually double the cost, the presence of a lens implant that could cause earlier cataracts, glaucoma or inflammation in the eye.

Most people are highly satisfied both with LASIK and Visian ICLs, and there is fairly low risk with both (assuming you are a good candidate). Another option if you aren’t sure would be to get a second opinion on your candidacy from another surgeon, preferably who performs both procedures so they aren’t biased in favor of one over the other. Feel free to email me and I might be able to recommend someone near you.

My father had lens implants 8 years ago at age 72

He needed cataract surgery and opted for bifocal lens implantation at the same time. He is still glasses free at 80. No regrets.

Don't know about the Visian, but the lenses ...

that were implanted as part of my cataract surgery are not as precise as glasses. Thus my vision without glasses is "almost" 20-20, but not quite and I notice the difference.

Limited anecdotals, but

A friend of mine had a severe prescription (like -6 to -8 or something) and had implants. She seems much happier.

I'm tempted to get lasik one of these days but I have three issues with it:

1. People who get it report that macular degeneration continues and they eventually go back to wearing glasses/etc so it's not a silver bullet

2. If you work at a computer or have dry eyes it's suboptimal

3. I look awesome in glasses.

I had lasik in 2001

Doc told me “this won’t stop your eyes from getting older and sometime down the line you’ll most likely need reading glasses”.
10 years later that proved correct.
I’m still satisfied with the result and would do it again.

I’m fully prepared to need reading glasses someday.

But reading glasses are less inconvenient than being reliant on glasses or contacts to get through my daily life. I’m hoping I can maybe get a good 10 years in of nothing before I need to start buying drugstore “cheaters”. Also, apparently there is less of a risk of dry eyes with this other procedure, so that’s nice. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive!

Data point of one:

I first needed cheaters when I was 49.