Blog
Calendar Icon
Request an Appointment
LASIK Self-Test

Vision Correction

Happy Woman Enjoying a Bike Ride

It’s not always as simple as everyone is a candidate for LASIK eye surgery. Although LASIK can be a miracle of vision for some, it is not right for everyone. If you are not a candidate for LASIK for any reason that does not mean that you cannot get your vision corrected.

LASIK is not always a good procedure for patients especially once the eye begins to age and this tends to happen in early to mid 40’s. What happens to people in their 40’s is that presbyopia sets in.

Presbyopia is a normal, natural part of our eyes’ aging process, and it happens to just about everyone. As you age, the crystalline lens in your eye hardens and loses elasticity. With this loss of flexibility, your eyes are less able to adjust properly to focus near objects. You may start to experience blurry vision when reading or looking at your smartphone. Then, focusing between distances can become more difficult.

So what happens when you want to see like you did when you were young but you are 45? What happens if you have an active lifestyle and you do not like glasses. What happens if you just look better without glasses. To truly understand your candidacy for any vision correction procedure you should schedule a consultation with our San Antonio eye center to determine your options.

Safe Vision Correction Options for Patients Over 45

While presbyopia can’t be corrected with laser eye surgery you still have several options that will help provide clear vision – for near, far and intermediate distances.

Fortunately, there is another option for aging eyes or dysfunctional lenses. This called refractive lens exchange (RLE). This procedure can provide a full range of permanent vision forever.

Refractive lens exchange involves the replacement of the eye’s natural lens with an intraocular lens implant (IOLs). Intraocular lens implants can minimize or eliminate your need for corrective eyewear at multiple distances. IOLs with full range vision are often called advanced technology implants.

If you are over 45 the chances of RLE being a more effective procedure than LASIK is high. The great thing about South Texas Eye Specialists is that we are not just a LASIK center so we can provide the best procedure to get our patients their best possible vision.

In adults over 45 years old, replacing the dysfunctional lens with an advanced technology IOL typically restores excellent near and far vision, and lessens the need for reading glasses or dependence on glasses whatsoever.

Safe Vision Correction Options for High Levels of Nearsighted (Myopia)

Chart Illustrating How Myopia Affects an Eye

Vision Correction Solutions for people with moderate to high nearsightedness.

The Visian ICL is a phakic intraocular lens (it is positioned in front of the patient’s natural lens) that can correct up to -25 diopters of myopia and up to 7 diopters of astigmatism. The Visian ICL often gives a better quality of vision than laser vision correction for higher levels of myopia due to the fact that no new optical aberrations are created. When visual prescriptions have high levels of myopia using a laser can often induce optical aberrations. Aberrations cause light to spread out over the vision versus fixated on the retina.

The Visian ICL is a long-lasting solution for refractive error and astigmatism correction. Through its myopia treatment, the Visian ICL offers excellent quality of vision.

The Visian ICL Advantages

  • Quality of Vision – The Visian ICL produces not only improved visual acuity, but also excellent visual quality. Many patients experience the “Wow” factor when they experience the immediate improvement in the quality of their vision.
  • Biocompatibility – Collamer, the 100 percent pure collagen copolymer lens material of the Visian ICL, is not viewed as a foreign object by the body’s immune system.
  • Versatility – The Visian ICL offers a wider treatment range for myopia than LASIK and PRK procedures.
  • Simplicity – Unlike traditional contact lenses, once the Visian ICL is implanted in the eye, there is no additional maintenance needed.
  • Lens Placement – The placement of the Visian ICL makes the lens invisible to the patient and any observer.
  • Removable – The Visian ICL was designed to be permanently placed in the eye. However, the lens can be removed if a patient’s vision changes or if it otherwise needs to be removed or replaced.