Although LASIK is usually our vision correction procedure of choice, it is not always the best option for everyone wanting to become less dependent on glasses or contacts. As this chart shows, there may be several treatments available—depending on your range of correction.
Some people are better suited to the following surgical procedures.
Often recommended for people with corneas that are too thin for LASIK.
Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and LASIK are similar and are performed with the same highly sophisticated excimer laser. But instead of the surgeon creating and folding back a thin flap of tissue on the cornea to reveal the treatment area, PRK involves the surgeon gently brushing aside a layer of protective surface cells that cover the tissue to be treated.
Recommended for those under 50 who are not good candidates for laser vision correction.
An implantable contact lens (ICL) that has been widely used in Europe was recently approved for use in the United States. From 1997 to 2003, American surgeons participating in a clinical study implanted this lens in more than 500 patients. Results showed over 84% achieved 20/40 vision or better without the use of glasses or contact lenses.
Approximately 150,000 Verisyse ICLs have been implanted in Europe since 1990, but this lens is the first of its kind available in this country. Additional ICL options will likely be introduced in America over the next few years.
Often recommended for people over age 50 and those with high correction needs.
Refractive lens exchange (RLE) involves removing and exchanging the eye's natural lens with a plastic lens implant. This is done to correct moderate to high degrees of near and farsightedness. For each eye, the surgeon selects a lens implant that will enable the eye to focus as normally as possible. The results of RLE offer dramatic and quite predictable outcomes.
RLE is essentially the same operation that is routinely performed on over 3 million Americans each year to remove and replace lenses clouded by cataracts. The only difference is that the natural lens is not clouded—it is removed and replaced to correct the eye’s focusing power.
