HD Lens Restores Vision
This clouding of the lens behind the pupil can only be corrected through surgery. And new lens implants are giving many patients a whole new outlook on life.
It's called Crystalens HD and it can give patients in their 50s, 60, even 70s the vision they had when they were 30-years-old or even younger.
Before we all turn 40, the lens of our eye is flexible, allowing our vision to focus. But with age, that lens becomes stiff and can become cloudy - forming a cataract.
Dr. Vance Thompson says, “So people that were born with perfect vision now need reading glasses or people that were born needing glasses, now need bifocals to see up close.”
The cloudy lens eventually needs to be removed and replaced with an artificial lens.
Paula Koller says, “They said it could take up to a year to keep improving, but already I was seeing better than I ever had.”
Paula Koller could have waited to have the procedure done when her cataracts formed. But she chose to have it done early: her left eye last week, her right eye Tuesday.
She says, “It's unreal to be able to see you know. I already see without the glasses.”
And that's where the difference lies between Crystalens HD and a traditional lens implant.
Thompson says, “Traditionally those lens implants are focused at a distance. So no matter what age a person has cataract surgery they need trifocals.”
But those glasses are no longer needed.
Thompson says, “What's amazing is whether a patient is 40, 50, 70 or even 80, they not only take care of the cataract but they can have seamless vision at all three distances without glasses.”
The HD lens implant is essentially a marriage of laser vision correction and cataract surgery. The old lens is removed...and a new flexible lens goes in.
Koller says, “It's beyond belief I guess!"
Koller, who has worn glasses since she was 18 months old, says her new pair of eyes were worth the wait.
She says, “I’m looking at these glasses and thinking ok today's the last day!”
The LASIK procedure is the right answer for most patients who are considering refractive surgery to improve their vision. However, in patients with higher degrees of nearsightedness or farsightedness, the cornea may be too thin to allow full refractive correction.
In these cases, surgical implants may be the best alternative. These special devices are placed in the eyes to improve their focusing ability.
