Visian ICL – The Implantable Contact Lens

Are you tired of your eyeglasses or traditional contact lens? Lasik surgery, a corneal refractive laser eye surgery, can rid you of your dependence on these. However, everyone is not a candidate for Lasik.

Until 2005, a non-candidate for Lasik surgery had no other option for refractive surgery. For over 10 years, the Visian ICL has been used to treat patients who were not suitable for Lasik surgery because of certain factors: extreme myopia, thin corneas, or dry eyes. The Visian ICL is one type of implantable contact lens involving a surgical procedure to the eye that corrects moderate to severe cases of myopia (nearsightedness).

Unlike Lasik, the Visian ICL does not involve removal of any corneal tissue. Instead, an implantable contact lens is placed between the iris and your natural lens. The implanted lens works with the eye’s cornea and lens to enhance your vision, but does not affect the eye’s structure. This contact lens is permanent and does not need maintenance, but is also removable if ever needed.

Advantages of Visian ICL

The procedure offers improved visual acuity and a better quality of vision. Depth and dimension is improved through this procedure, even more than by Lasik surgery. The Visian ICL can also be used to treat a wider range of myopia than Lasik. While Lasik treats myopia up to -12.00 diopters, the Visian ICL can treat myopia up to -20.00 diopters.

Improvement after the procedure is immediate and the recovery time is short (usually 1-2 days). There is very little discomfort during the procedure. There is little risk involved in this procedure, mostly only infection, but the risk of infection is greatly reduced by antibiotic drops used before, during, and after surgery.

As mentioned before, the implantable contact lens is meant to be permanent, but can be removed by the surgeon if the patient’s vision may change or if other eye surgeries have to be performed, such as cataract surgery.

The positioning of the contact lens behind the iris keeps it in place and the iris maintains its normal function. Once implanted, the implantable contact lens is neither visible nor felt by the patient.

The Visian ICL is a particular type of phakic IOL made out of collamer, which makes the lens biocompatible with the eye, meaning the lens is not viewed as a foreign object and easily integrates with the eye. Because of the collagen in the lens, it reduces aberrations in your vision, unlike acrylic lenses, which tend to reflect some light causing glare in your vision.

Within the collamer, there is also a UV absorbing chromophor. This provides protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays.

The Visian ICL Procedure

Candidates of Visian ICL include those who are nearsighted, with or without astigmatism, and are not a candidate for Lasik, between the ages of 21-45, has not had any ophthalmic surgery or history of eye disease. The patient must also have not had a change is their eyeglass prescription of more than 0.5D in the last year.

Before the procedure, your surgeon will determine the power of the implant lens for your vision correction. A YAG laser iridotomy will be done, allowing fluid in your eye to circulate before the procedure is performed. The opening in the iris is less than 3.0 mm. This is done 1-2 weeks before surgery.

Just before the procedure, a numbing agent will be applied to the eye. The folded lens which was placed in a small cartridge will be inserted into the incision and gently unfold in the eye. The four corners will be tucked in place behind the iris. The procedure takes less than 10 minutes for each eye. The incision is so small, normally sutures are not needed.

After the surgery, eye drops will be administered and the patient’s pressure will be checked 1-2 hours after the procedure. The day of the surgery, someone will need to drive the patient home and a follow-up visit will be needed the day after the surgery. An exam will need to be administered by your surgeon 3-4 days, 1 month, and 6 months after the procedure.

Results of Visian ICL

Patients who undergo the Visian ICL procedure experience a higher quality of vision than other corrective vision surgeries. It’s like upgrading your vision from basic cable to high definition cable. In clinical outcomes of the Visian ICL performed on US military war fighters, 96% of procedures had results of visual acuity of 20/20 or better. According to an FDA U.S. clinical trial, satisfaction by patients was over 99%.

At the Eye Center of Texas, Dr. Wade is one of the leading Visian surgeons in Texas. He was also one of the first surgeons in Houston to perform this procedure. Although the Visian ICL procedure is more expensive than Lasik, the quality of improved vision lasts for a lifetime.