Refractive Lens Exchange
Refractive lens exchange is another surgical corrective procedure which is very similar to cataract surgery. It is often reserved for patients that have become intolerant to contact lens wear but have very high refractive errors that are too extreme for LASIK or PRK. Often these patients have also developed presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision.
In refractive lens exchange, the natural lens of the eye is still clear, and has not developed a clouding known as a cataract. During the procedure, the clear natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens or intraocular lens (IOL) as in cataract surgery. There are a variety of intraocular lens styles that can be implanted to achieve the patient’s visual needs, including those that correct astigmatism, presbyopia, or both.