When to undergo ICL Implantation ?
Like LASIK, ICL surgery also needs the refractive error (spectacle number ) to be stable, and hence is planned only after age of about 18-20 years or so. The upper age limit is about 40 years, after which ICL implantation is not considered suitable, and other options of number reduction are considered. For the range of refractive errors from -10.0 Dsph to -20.0 Dph, it is the ideal recommended therapy, and is able to give a very good refractive result all by itself.
For refractive errors above -20 D , a combination of LASIK and Phakic ICL (called Bioptics ) is done. The most commonly used Phakic ICL is the Visian ICL (Staar Surgical ). It is a posterior chamber ICL, it is placed behind the iris and just in front of the natural crystalline lens. It is not visible to the naked eye and is only detected by an eye surgeon under an examining microscope.
The procedure is done under topical anaesthesia. The IOL is loaded into a specially designed cartridge and then injected inside the eye into its correct position. The patient is discharged within half an hour of the procedure, and is instructed to use some eye drops for about 2 weeks.
Most patients have excellent vision recovery on the next day of the procedure itself. Most activities can be resumed within about 5 days of the procedure. The ICL is available in 2 forms:
- Spherical — for high myopia
- Cylindrical – for high myopia with astigmatism (cylinder power also )
The Visian ICL was first introduced in India in 2005. Dr Prakash R Nayak, has since then performed hundreds of such implantation procedures with excellent results.
Image credit – www.clarityeye.net
