What are Light Adjustable Lenses™?
Light Adjustable Lenses San Diego Carlsbad Encinitas
Cataracts are one of the most common eye issues. More than half of all people over age 80 have experienced cataracts. In fact, they’re often considered to be a normal part of aging, which will develop in everyone if they live long enough.
There is a natural lens in the eye located just behind the pupil. A healthy lens is completely transparent, and acts to focus light onto the retina, which is the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye. A cataract occurs when the eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy and opaque, due to changes in the proteins that make up the lens. This blocks light from entering the eye, leading to vision loss.
Fortunately, we have effective treatment available for cataracts. During cataract surgery, an eye surgeon removes the damaged lens from the eye through the pupil, and replaces it with an artificial lens (which is known as an intraocular lens, or IOL). This is actually the most common surgical procedure performed in the US, and many millions of people have had their sight restored through cataract surgery.
There are a few different options for the replacement lens. One of the latest options is the Light Adjustable Lens. This innovative IOL allows for customization after the cataract surgery procedure, helping to achieve better visual outcomes.
What is a Light Adjustable Lens for?
Most IOLs can’t be changed after they’re placed. The eye surgeon performs detailed measurements ahead of time in order to select the best lens for a particular patient. Although this process works fairly well, it can’t take into account certain factors, such as changes that may occur in the shape of the eye during and after the surgical procedure. After the healing process is complete, patients sometimes find that their vision isn’t quite as good as they’d like.
With most IOLs, there would only be two options at this point. The patient could use glasses or contacts to correct for the imperfect IOL. However, many people don’t want to use corrective lenses full-time for the rest of their lives. They could also undergo another surgical procedure to replace the IOL with a different one. However, given the expense and discomfort of surgery, most people don’t consider this to be ideal.
This is why the Light Adjustable Lens was developed. It can be customized by the eye surgeon after placement, allowing for fine-tuning of a patient’s vision without performing another surgical procedure.
How does a Light Adjustable Lens work?
The shape of the Light Adjustable Lens can be altered after it’s placed in the eye, which allows the visual outcome to be customized.
After cataract surgery, it’s very normal for vision to be a bit blurry during the first week or so after the procedure. This will taper off over the next few weeks. As the eye heals from the surgery, the patient will get a chance to experience the vision that it provides in their daily life.
A few weeks after surgery, the first adjustment can be performed. A precisely calculated beam of UV light is shined through the pupil onto the lens. Because of the structure of the molecules that make up the lens, this light beam is capable of rearranging them, changing the shape of the lens.
The surgeon is able to precisely customize the changes in the lens shape. As they calculate how to do this, they take into account feedback from the patient. For example, some people would prefer for their vision to be crisp and clear close up. Maybe they enjoy activities like knitting that require near vision, and would prefer to be able to do this without glasses. However, other people might prefer for their vision to be optimized for distance instead. For example, maybe they enjoy hiking and want to be able to enjoy the views without needing glasses. These preferences are taken into account as the surgeon adjusts the lens.
After the first adjustment, the patient again takes some time to experience the IOL in its new shape. If it’s not quite right, it can be adjusted again. Up to three adjustments can be performed to get the patient’s vision just right.
Once the desired visual outcome has been achieved, then another beam of light is used to lock all of the molecules into place and solidify the lens. This prevents any further changes in the lens shape, so that the patient’s desired vision will last for many years to come.
Light Adjustable Lenses San Diego Carlsbad Encinitas
If you currently have cataracts that are interfering with your vision, cataract surgery can help you to achieve clear vision again. The procedure takes less than an hour and provides permanent results.
Light Adjustable Lenses are only one of the options that you have. There are also a variety of other options, including accommodating lenses (which can change shape to allow you to focus at different distances), multifocal lenses (which have a few discrete focal points), and more. Different lenses are right for different people. To discuss your options and get professional advice about which would be most likely to achieve your goals for your vision, please schedule a consultation with one of our highly experienced eye surgeons. You can call us at (760)930-9696, or simply contact us online and we’ll get in touch with you to schedule.
