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Lens Replacement Surgery Cost
Refractive lens replacement (RLR) surgery has proven a very successful alternative for those patients for whom laser eye surgery is deemed unsuitable due to a number of reasons.
The main reasons that patients are unsuitable for laser eye surgery treatment is the existence of Presbyopia which can occur with age and is related to the eyes inability to focus. Reshaping the cornea through laser eye surgery will not help to remedy Presbyopia and as laser eye surgery produces permanent results RLR surgery will be recommended as a more effective alternative treatment. Refractive Lens Replacement surgery is also suitable for those patients with a very thin cornea.
Intra-ocular lens implant surgery is a technique that takes the natural lens of the patients' eye and replaces this with an artificial lens, a similar operation to those used to treat cataracts.
Types of Lens Implants and the Cost of RLR Surgery
Lens implants can be classified in to two separate types of surgery:
- 'Implantable Contact Lens' (ICL's) or 'Phakic' implants, which retains the natural lens of the eye.
- Refractive Lens Replacement Surgery (RLR), in which the eye's natural lens are replaced.
The cost of RLR surgery starts at around £1300 per eye.
Implantable Contact Lens (ICL's)/Phakic Implants
Implantable lens retain the patients natural lenses and essentially works like a contact lens, however instead of being placed on the outside of the patients' eye it is surgically inserted inside the eye. This lens replacement option is usually reserved as options purely for middle aged and younger patients due to its requirement for the patients' lenses to still be adaptable and accommodate. This is where the persons' lens accommodates to see clearly over long distances (due to the elasticity of the persons' lenses that comes with youth)
With this form of lens replacement surgery comes the slight chance that the surgery may introduce an infection to the eye and like any type of eye surgery there comes the risk of surgery related issues occurring. It would be worth consulting an optometrist to find out whether ICL surgery is the correct option for you and to discuss the possible outcomes you can hope to achieve.
Refractive Lens Replacement Surgery (RLR)
RLR surgery involved the surgeons removing the patients natural lens and replacing it with a synthetic lens however a number of options exist.
- A Fixed Focus lens implant: Usually utilised when the patient is either over 40 and doesn't object to using reading glasses or when the patient suffers from cataracts due to their age. This type of implant is also used when patients suffer from a specific type of refractive disorder, including high myopia.
- A Monovision lens implant: This lens implant enables the patient to see both near and far away without the need for additional aide. It addresses one eye for near vision and the other for viewing things in the distance allowing the patient to see things both near and far objects following treatment.
- Multi-Focal lens implants (PRELEX): PREsbyopic Lens Exchange (PRELEX) implants is a technique utilised to treat the vision of presbyopic and hyperopic patients. This technique however is not recommended for patients with smaller pupils and those who do a lot of night driving due to the possibility of "haloes" obscuring their vision.
Lens Replacement Surgery Procedure
Refractive lens replacement surgery is generally performed on an out-patient basis and the patient will not normally spend more than a few hours in the clinic. The procedure is generally performed under a local anaesthetic, in which anaesthetic eye drops are used to numb the eyes during the procedure. Incisions are then made in the eye after which the old lens will be extracted and the new artificial lens fitted. The natural lens will be removed with the assistance of ultrasound before the replacement synthetic lens is inserted.
RLR utilises a tried and tested procedure that is is performed on millions of patients each year to remove cataracts and is now considered by medical professionals to be one of the safest and most effective procedures available.
Benefits of Refractive Lens Surgery
Unlike laser eye surgery, Refractive Lens surgery is fully reversible which may justify the higher cost of the procedure to many patients. Lens Replacement surgery is also a permanent solution to cataract sufferers and those patients who have undergone RLR surgery will never require cataract surgery later in life. For patients already above the age of 40 years old the results of Refractive Lens Replacement will remain constant as opposed to laser eye surgery where presbyopia can still develop later in the patient's life. Refractive Lens surgery costs will vary from clinic to clinic although the cost element should not be as important as the proven experience and successful track record of any clinic and eye surgeon under being considered by potential RLR patients.
Clear Lens Extraction (CLE) or Refractive Lens Exchange
Refractive lens replacement surgery has it's origins in cataract surgery and is very similar in technique to this procedure which helps treat millions of cataracts sufferers every year. The main difference between cataract and lens replacement surgery is that the surgery is not replacing a cloudy lens as in the case of cataract, but is replacing a clear lens for the purpose of vision correction. For this reason RLR surgery is also referred to as clear lens extraction or CLE to make this difference clear.