LASIK vs. Clear Lens Exchange

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Manhattan, New York, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 24, 2012 -- LASIK and clear lens exchange are both refractive procedures, but they are not really comparable procedures. LASIK is a procedure for reshaping the cornea, while clear lens exchange targets the eye's crystalline lens.

Understanding Your Eye

You may be familiar with how the eye works: light is focused on the back of the eye, the retina, where it is translated into visual signals interpreted by your brain. You may not remember that the eye has not one, but two lenses that perform this focusing work.

The cornea is the clear lens on the outer surface of the eye, while the crystalline lens is behind the iris, the colored portion of the eye. The cornea has a fixed focus that remains constant once stabilized, though it may change during pregnancy or due to eye injury. The lens, however, changes focus, allowing you to clearly see objects at different distances.

Why LASIK

LASIK is performed when you have refractive errors in your cornea. These refractive errors, known as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, make it hard or impossible for your lens to focus on objects at different distances or any distance. LASIK surgery reshapes your cornea so that it pre-focuses the light into the proper range for your lens. This allows you to see objects at what are considered "normal" sight distances.

Once your cornea has been reshaped, you will have essentially permanent vision correction. However, because this procedure only reshapes your cornea, it does not correct for problems related to the crystalline lens.

Why Refractive Lens Exchange

Refractive lens exchange is used when your crystalline lens is no longer performing its duty. This is most often when you begin to suffer from cataracts, or cloudiness in the lens, that stops light from entering the eye. This is the only treatment available for cataracts.

In the past, most of the time the lens used to replace your natural lens is only a monofocal lens, that is, it only allows you to see clearly at one distance. Now, however, there are a number of lens options available that can restore your vision after cataract surgery to something closer to what it was before cataracts. These may be a multifocal lens like ReSTOR or an accommodating lens like Crystalens.

Because new lenses actually give good, flexible vision, refractive lens exchange is now being performed for the correction of presbyopia, when eye aging reduces the ability of your eye to focus on objects at different distances.

Consult an Ophthalmologist

The best way to know what vision correction procedure is best for you is to consult with an ophthalmologist. For most people below the age of 40, LASIK is a more appropriate treatment option, but cataracts are sometimes seen at very young ages.

To learn more about refractive surgery in New York, please visit the website of Kelly Laser Center today.

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