NOT A Candidate? Not Anymore!

Not a Candidate because you are very Nearsighted, have thin Corneas or dry eyes? You have Options!

US FDA approves a new technology called EVO ICL® to help patients with extreme nearsightedness, dry eyes, and thin corneas to see without glasses and contact lenses.

Among the first in the world, I have been involved with ICL technology since the early 1990s when it was designed by a Russian company and caused a paradigm shift in eye surgery by helping people with extreme glasses prescriptions see without glasses and contact lenses. We shared our experience with different varieties of these Phakic Implants (Lens implants that are placed in your eye while you still have your natural crystalline lens) produced and invented in different parts of the world like the French “Domilens”, Japanese “Momose” Lens and Dutch “Worst” Lens.

This Original Phakic implant underwent numerous advances over decades to become successful as the US FDA approved, Visian ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens) for very nearsighted patients who are not candidates for Lasik surgery. This technology did involve the need to make an opening in the patient’s iris (laser or surgical) for the safety and prevention of induced glaucoma. This recent FDA approval allows for this already successful ICL technology to have a central opening that does not need that uncomfortable procedure and patients can enjoy vision with the least intervention.

Like a miniature contact lens, it is surgically implanted into the eye to correct nearsighted vision and even astigmatism and you cannot feel it or need to maintain or clean it once it is in the eye. The surgery is brief (minutes) and performed with just numbing drops and no stitches and permanently eliminates the need for patients to remove or replace lenses every day.

The material this ICL is made of is Collamer which contains collagen that is biocompatible with the eye (and hence not rejected inside the eye) and provides exceptional quality of vision especially since it also is placed close to the nodal point of the eye refractive system which sometimes even provides vision better than patients glasses or contact lenses.

As long as you are more than 21 years of age and stable in refraction and your natural lens is clear (not a cataract) and have had no history of diseases such as glaucoma, iritis, or diabetic retinopathy or any severe anatomical dysfunction, you could be a candidate for this surgery.

If you have the following conditions that prevent you from being a candidate for Lasik eye surgery, ICL technology is ideal for extreme and even normal nearsightedness:

High Nearsightedness: Since there is a limit to how much tissue can be removed during Lasik surgery, the ICL safely corrects all the nearsightedness and even associated astigmatism with this new technological advance

Thin Corneas: The front clear, viewfinder of your eyes that LASIK surgery is performed on is completely bypassed since the ICL technology is placed inside the eye 

Dry Eyes: Since there is no cutting of a corneal layer or disturbance of the nasociliary nerves, The ICL is ideal for patients with dry eyes.

Besides the straightforward nearsighted cases, I have even combined ICL with LASIK surgery in extreme cases and additionally, used it in certain Keratoconus cases as an off-label indication.

Though the safety and efficacy of this technology have been documented by over a million cases outside of the USA before US FDA approval, there can be side effects in some cases like glaucoma, inflammation, or residual astigmatism. These can be treated successfully and ICL is even removed as a reversible option if needed.

One more important thing to understand is that as you age and develop a cataract, this ICL technology can be easily removed during cataract surgery, and you can proceed with premium Lens implants in most cases to enjoy a future of vision without glasses permanently.

Find out if you are a candidate for the new EVO ICL technology and have a no-maintenance contact lens inside your eyes.