See Clearly Past 40: Understanding Refractive Lens Exchange

When you’re over 40, you’ve seen a lot of things. You’re excited to continue adding new sights to your list! But as you head off on your adventures, you might have frustrations with your eyes. You understand why some people stash reading glasses in every corner. It’s hard to read your dash, your phone screen looks blurrier, and you feel like your arms are too short to hold a book far enough to see clearly. When your eye doctor tells you “this happens to everybody,” it doesn’t make you feel any better.

What’s happening? And can your vision keep up with you?

The loss of near vision, known as presbyopia, is a common part of aging and is due to the lens behind your pupil getting stiff and not zooming in like it used to. The eye’s lens works like a camera’s zoom lens, flexing to provide up-close focus. In younger eyes, the lens adjusts easily. As your eyes age, this once-flexible lens stiffens. As the lens stiffens, it can’t adjust to focus on near objects as well as it used to. This is a normal part of aging, but advances in technology mean you don’t have to live without near vision.

Refractive lens exchange (RLE) can permanently restore reading range and provide good driving, computer, and cell phone reading vision, eliminating the need for reading glasses, bifocals, or trifocals.

What is Refractive Lens Exchange?

Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is a procedure where the eye’s natural lens is replaced with an intraocular lens (IOL). This replacement lens can correct a range of vision issues. There are many options for artificial lenses, including traditional monofocal, multifocal, extended depth-of-field, and the Light Adjustable LensTM (LAL^Ⓡ). There are even lenses to correct eye conditions like astigmatism. Your doctor will help you select an artificial lens that fits your lifestyle and accommodates all of your activities, whether you’re looking forward to reading a book without glasses or driving with a clear view of your dash.

RLE is a short procedure, taking about 15 minutes per eye. Most patients resume regular activities after 1-2 days. Your doctor will see you at one day, one week, one month and 3 months after your surgery to monitor your eyes as you fully heal.

There’s an added benefit to RLE: People who undergo the procedure never get cataracts. This is because the lens—the part of the eye that develops a cataract later in life—is removed during the RLE procedure.

Can I Get RLE After LASIK?

We see many patients who’ve enjoyed years of clear vision after LASIK and want to remain glasses-free throughout their life. RLE is a great option for patients who have had LASIK to continue to enjoy clear sight in their 40s and beyond.

Keep Seeing Your Life

Age doesn’t have to slow you down! Keep seeing all of life’s moments with refractive lens exchange at Vance Thompson Vision. For more than 30 years, VTV has played a pivotal role in performing FDA-monitored studies on RLE, which has resulted in high patient satisfaction. We are dedicated to using the world’s leading technology and our vast experience to help you see life the way you want to.

If you’re wondering if you are a candidate for refractive lens exchange, contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our leading ophthalmologists and learn more about your best options.