Exciting new options for decreasing or even eliminating the need for glasses are here. The good news is that it isn’t just LASIK for the under 50 year old anymore.
If you have good driving vision and are in your forties, fifties or sixties, but can’t read without your glasses, then we have the new Raindrop® corneal inlay to restore reading vision. The Raindrop is the most exciting new technology to come along in the past 10 years.
They have been in use for a number of years in Europe and Asia, and FDA approved in 2016 in the US. It is a non-LASIK method of placing a 30 micron thick, 2.5mm inlay lens in the cornea to regain uncorrected reading without diminishing binocular distance vision.
The procedure takes about 10 minutes and performed in the office with minimal discomfort. You can return to most normal activity the very next day. The reading vision begins to improve over the first seven days, but can continue to improve up to six months. Most patients showed and improvement in reading vision anywhere from 3–5 lines on the vision chart. Binocular distance vision was not significantly impacted but the Raindrop eye showed half a line of distance vision decrease.
If you have cataracts, and don’t want to wear thick reading glasses, then there is the new Symfony® extended range intraocular lens implant that allows good vision for driving, computer range and reading. This implant has become extremely popular over the past two years for people who want to minimize reliance on glasses for distance and near activity after cataract surgery. It also treats astigmatism, unlike the older multifocal cataract implants. People report far less night glare and halo and improved intermediate and computer vision, making it ideal for people in their fifties, sixties and seventies who like to use the computer for work or for fun.
Even in the field of LASIK, there are new lasers that make super fine flaps, thus allowing safe LASIK in thinner corneas and new wavefront technology to allow more precise and micro pinpoint treatment to reduce symptoms such as halo, glare and astigmatism.
Lastly, in the under 40 population, with a prescription too high for LASIK, we have new implantable contact lens (ICL) technology that allows for treatment of nearsightedness and astigmatism as well.
All of these exciting new technologies can lead to significant reduction dependence on glasses. Not all of these are appropriate for everyone and the best way to see what is the best option for you is to schedule an evaluation with a specialists.