Most everyone is familiar with LASIK eye surgery for the correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. What most people aren’t aware of is a newer procedure for those who suffer from high to extreme nearsightedness. It is called the ICL or Implantable Collamer Lens. Here I take a soft, contact lens-type implant and insert it into the eye behind the iris (the colored part of the eye). The implant stays fixed in place. The patient never needs to remove this lens, athough I can remove or exchange it if necessary. In studies done comparing one eye treated with LASIK and the other eye treated with the ICL, all patients preferred the vision in the ICL eye.

I perform the ICL implant procedure at an outpatient facility not far from our office and it takes about an hour to treat both eyes. The amazing thing about this procedure is the rapidity of vision recovery. I treated a patient several weeks ago who was legally blind and was able to drive without glasses the very same day!

Only a small percentage of eye surgeons are trained in ICL implantation. I am pleased to say that I offer this at the Center For LASIK. For more information, please visit our website or the STAAR Visian ICL site.

To find out if you can have ICLs, please call to arrange a complimentary consultation with me.

Raymond P. Gailitis, MD, FACS