Are you tired of wearing glasses or contact lenses? Thanks to modern technology, there are alternatives to traditional visual aids.
But laser vision correction surgery isn’t for everyone. While procedures like LASIK are incredibly safe and effective, not everyone qualifies for them.
Even those that do may prefer an alternative. For those patients, there’s the Visian ICL. The Visian ICL is a vision correction option for patients who need or prefer an alternative to laser eye surgery. Keep reading to discover why your vision correction dreams can still come true with the Visian ICL!
LASIK and Laser Eye Surgeries
Laser eye surgeries like LASIK and PRK use an excimer laser to reshape the cornea. Reshaping the cornea helps correct refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. These procedures are minimally invasive, and most people find that they qualify for a laser vision correction procedure.
However, some laser eye surgeries aren’t for everyone. For example, LASIK requires your cornea to be thick enough to create a flap in the cornea.
This flap acts as a natural bandage after surgery. Most people have thick enough corneas to accommodate a corneal flap, but not everyone does. If your cornea is too thin, it becomes unsafe to undergo LASIK.
Laser eye surgeries can also cause issues with your night vision if your pupils are too big. They also frequently trigger postoperative dry eye in patients predisposed to dry eye symptoms.
While most patients still can qualify for laser eye surgery if they don’t have these issues, a less-permanent alternative to laser eye surgery can appeal to all patients, whether or not they make suitable LASIK or PRK candidates. That’s where the Visian ICL comes in.
The Visian ICL
The Visian ICL, or Implantable Collamer Lens, is an implant you have inserted into the eye in front of your natural lens. It corrects your vision just like a contact lens would, but unlike traditional contact lenses, you don’t need to change the ICL, and it can sit in your eye indefinitely.
But you can also have it removed if your prescription changes or you change your mind. The non-permanence of the Visian ICL gives many patients peace of mind, although most choose to keep the ICL, and you never need to remove or replace it if you don’t want to.
You don’t need to have corneas of a certain thickness or pupils under a specific size for the Visian ICL. It’s also a better choice if you have dry eyes, as it doesn’t involve severing nerves in the cornea.
This helps reduce the chances of experiencing dry eyes after placement in the eye. Not only is the procedure to implant the Visian ICL even less invasive than laser eye surgery, but the material that the ICL consists of causes less irritation.
The ICL is made of collamer, a substance closely related to collagen, a naturally occurring protein in your body. Because the implant is made of a material similar to what’s found in your body, it’s more biocompatible than other artificial implants.
Biocompatibility means less irritation, dry eye, and general discomfort after the procedure. Once implanted, you won’t even feel the ICL is there, and you’ll be able to see as if you had naturally clear vision.
The Visian ICL has 99% patient satisfaction and an even higher satisfaction rate than LASIK! The procedure is also quick and painless, with a shorter recovery period than laser eye surgery.
The Procedure
Having the Visian ICL implanted is an outpatient procedure, meaning you get to go home the same day you have surgery. When you go in for the procedure, you’ll have your eyes completely numbed with eye drops.
Then, your surgeon creates a tiny incision in the eye. They then fold up and push the ICL through this incision. Then it’s unfurled and positioned, so it sits correctly in your eye.
That’s the entire procedure! After placing the ICL, you’ll sit in recovery for a bit and then can have someone drive you home. There’s no need for any stitches as the incision is small enough to heal independently.
Visian ICL Candidates
Most patients make good candidates for the Visian ICL, but there are a few things to consider. First, the Visian ICL can only correct nearsightedness and astigmatism, so it isn’t for patients with farsightedness.
But it can correct nearsightedness more than LASIK can, along with the ability to correct some astigmatism. To have the Visian ICL procedure, you also need to be over 21 and in good health, with no other pre-existing eye conditions besides a refractive error.
You also need to have a stable prescription, meaning it hasn’t changed in the last year. You’ll have to schedule a consultation with your eye doctor at Loden Vision Centers to determine if you’re a good candidate.
Before getting the Visian ICL, you must have an evaluation to ensure that the procedure will be safe and effective. But chances are, if you meet the above qualifications, you’ll make a great candidate for the Visian ICL. Once you have your procedure, your dreams of visual freedom can finally come true!
Are you looking to start your journey to clearer vision and visual freedom? Schedule an appointment at Loden Vision Centers in Nashville, TN, today!
