Refractive Surgery (LASIK)

Eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to.
Each patient undergoes a pre-operative examination for factors such as corneal thickness (pachymetry), corneal shape (topography), retinal examination for retinal status.
The FDA approved VISX STAR S4 Excimer Laser used has the maximum built in safety features, including the unique 3 D active tracking system which tracks your eye for the minutest of movement during surgery. This helps in precise delivery of laser at the right place with less tissue removed resulting in fast treatment and faster recovery.
 Strict adherence to sterilization and asepsis.
 Post-operative follow up is done by qualified cornea and refractive surgeons.

For people wishing to have less dependence on glasses or contact lenses, an excimer laser procedure called Laser Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is currently the best way to achieve clear, natural vision. In performing LASIK, the surgeon first uses a special oscillating blade to make a partial cut through one fourth to one third of the front surface of the cornea, creating a flap of clear tissue on the central part of the eye.
The patient is then positioned under the excimer laser, which is programmed to vaporize some of the internal corneal tissue under the flap. After the laser has removed the selected tissue, the flap is closed over the eye. The cornea has extraordinary natural bonding qualities that allow effective healing without the use of stitches

If you are thinking about laser vision correction, Saraswati Nethralaya and its dedicated team of refractive surgeons now offers you the ultimate procedure for reducing your dependence on glasses or contact lenses. The iLASIK procedure exclusively uses an advanced technology called the IntraLaseTM method, which is a 100% blade-free approach to create the corneal flap during your personalized laser vision correction treatment.

1. Are both eyes treated at the same time?
Literature has shown that LASIK is an extremely safe procedure and sight-threatening complications are rare. Patients normally prefer to have both eyes treated at one sitting and get back to work faster. This practice is followed worldwide. However if the patient feels more comfortable getting only one eye treated at each session, this can be done without any additional cost to the patient.

2. Will my number get fully corrected at the time of LASIK?
The laser is set so as to reshape your cornea to eliminate your number completely. However during the healing process the eyes of each person may heal slightly differently. Thus it is possible that you may have a small residual number. Usually this does not make it necessary for you to wear glasses for routine work.

3. Are the results of the LASIK procedure permanent?
The correction of vision done by LASIK is permanent. However LASIK has no effect on the natural progression of your number. This is why we only perform LASIK in patients whose number has been stable for at least one year.

4. If required, can LASIK be performed again?
If the objectives of visual correction are not met with in the first surgery, a second, or enhancement procedure can usually be performed to provide additional correction. Most people do not require additional surgery, but the higher the amount of correction necessary, the greater is the possibility of needing an enhancement procedure. The surgeon and the patient together assess this need and make the decision about further surgery.

5. Will I require reading glasses?
After LASIK surgery you will be able to see all distant objects clearly. Since LASIK cannot arrest the normal aging process of the body, you may require glasses for reading at around 40-45 years. Sometimes it may be possible to correct one eye for distance and the other eye for near vision if you so desire. This is called monovision.

Epi-LASIK is a relatively new procedure that is technically a variation of LASIK, and is also called epithelial LASIK or E-LASIK. Epi-LASIK is used mostly for people in the higher refractive range where corneas are too thin or too flat for LASIK. In this procedure, a very thin flap is made consisting of the most superficial layer of the cornea (the epithelium). This is followed by the excimer laser treatment to correct your refractive error as in LASIK. At the end of the procudere the epithelial flap is put back and a transparent protective shield (bandage contact lens) is placed over the cornea. The epithelium takes a few days to heal following which the bandage lenses are removed. In the epi-LASIK procedure although the visual outcome is the same as that of LASIK, recovery of good vision takes 8-10 days. Your surgeon will be your best judge to decide which procedure you should undergo.

As with any surgical procedure, LASIK surgery has some possible risks and side effects that must be taken into account. A specific end result cannot be guaranteed, although it can be closely predicted based on data from thousands of previous cases. Side effects are usually minimal following LASIK surgery. During the first few days after surgery, most people can expect to experience at least some of these effects:
 Increased sensitivity to light or glare.
Gritty and burning sensation in the eyes.
Slightly drier eyes.
Decreased visual clarity in dim light.

In most cases, these effects decrease and eventually disappear as the eye heals. Occasionally, some may persist.
Serious complications are fortunately very rare. Some of these include infection, wrinkles in the flap, epithelial in growth and increased or decreased response to correction. These complications are treatable with medication or further surgery.

The vision may be blurry for the first few hours after surgery but it gradually improves. Few patients may have a mild discomfort in the first two hours after the procedure. However, this is easily relieved by pain-killing medication. Patients are encouraged to rest for a day after the surgery. The precautions, which need to be taken post-operatively, are to avoid rubbing and squeezing the eyes. Avoid splashing water to the face or directly into the eyes. Instillation of eye drops would start immediately after the surgery and will continue for approximately two weeks. Most patients have functional vision and can resume normal activities and work within a few days. In LASIK, good vision is attained in 2-3 days. You will have follow up examinations on the day after the surgery, after the first week, one month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months later.

Each patient goes through a comprehensive series of eye tests and examinations (including Corneal Topography, Pachymetry and Wavefront analysis) before consulting with the surgeon to discuss and plan the specifics of personal vision correction. To ensure a painless experience the eye is anaesthetized with drops (No injections are necessary). For the surgery, the patient lies under the laser machine and concentrates on a flashing light for a few seconds. The patients are in the surgery suite for about 15-20 minutes and can walk away after the surgery. No hospitalization is required. In LASIK, both the eyes are generally operated at the same time; no patch is applied post-operatively. However, if you so desire, you may undergo the procedure one eye at a time.

The STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser System, at Saraswati Nethralaya, the first of its kind in the country, is among the most advanced Excimer Laser machines available today and is considered the gold standard amongst excimer lasers. This means, that LASIK surgery has now become safer and more accurate than ever before.
This is a US FDA approved excimer laser system and is the most popular Excimer laser in USA (70% of all Excimer lasers).
• Millions of laser procedures have been performed with it worldwide with 98% of patients having achieved 6/6 or better vision without glasses.
It removes minimal corneal tissue R11; can safely correct even higher powers.
Its unique ActiveTrak 3-D eye tracker ensures accurate laser delivery and compensates for minute eye movements during the procedure.
 Its individualized treatment option (Advanced CustomVueTM treatment) provides unsurpassed quality of vision, trouble-free night driving, and freedom from glare and haloes. This is aided by Variable Spot Scanning (VSSTM), which corrects the minutest of optical imperfections, the 3-D Eye Tracking device and the new Iris Recognition (IR) software, which ensures accurate correction of high cylindrical spectacle powers.
The STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser System therefore provides your doctor with the best possible treatment options for you.

Customized LASIK is an advanced form of laser vision correction, which further enhances the precision of excimer laser surgery. This is based on the fact that the human eye suffers not only from sphero-cylindrical errors, which can be corrected with glasses or contacted lenses, but also from numerous, minute optical imperfections or aberrations, other than sphero-cylindrical refractive errors, which are not correctable with glasses or contact lenses.

In customized LASIK, a unique technology called WaveScan captures the unique imperfections in your vision that could not have been measured and corrected before. WaveScan technology produces a detailed map of your eye  much like a fingerprint, where no two are alike. This new level of measurement provides 25 times more precision than standard measurements used for glasses and contact lenses, and gives your doctor treatment options that are truly individualized to your visual needs. This individualized information is then transferred to the excimer laser machine during your LASIK procedure.

At Saraswati Nethralaya, patients undergoing the customized LASIK procedure are treated with the state-of-the-art Advanced CustomVueTM procedure, providing a new level of precision and accuracy with unsurpassed quality of vision, trouble-free night driving, and freedom from glare and haloes.

Laser vision correction works by using a high precision laser beam to reshape the front surface of the cornea and allow light rays to focus precisely on the retina. This high precision laser known as Excimer Laser involves the use of 193 nm UV light, which is a unique type of R20;coldR21; laser that does not burn or cut tissue. Instead, it gently breaks the molecular bonds between the cells so that controlled amounts of tissue can be literally vaporized away, one microscopic layer at a time. Central tissue is removed to reduce the corneal curvature and correct nearsightedness. Peripheral tissue is removed to increase the corneal curvature and correct farsightedness. Astigmatism can be corrected by removing selected tissue to even out the curvature of the cornea.

To qualify for laser vision correction, you should:
 Be at least 18 years of age.
Have had stable vision for the past one year (slight prescription changes may not disqualify you.)
Have corneas of adequate thickness as measured by Corneal Pachymetry and normal shape (determined by Corneal Topography).
 Be free from complicating eye diseases (assessed individually).
Be free from systemic illnesses, Collagen vascular disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjögrens Syndrome, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, etc.
Not be pregnant or nursing.
 Be off contact lenses for 1-3 weeks prior to the surgery (this varies with the type of contact lens  soft or semi-soft).

LASIK eye surgery offers multiple benefits to most people with refractive errors:
 Clear vision without the hassles and inconvenience of corrective lenses  no more fears about being incapacitated in an emergency if lenses are lost or glasses are broken.
Expanded career opportunities (police officers, firefighters, pilots, air hostesses and professional athletes).
 Better vision for recreational sports, especially water, winter and contact sports.
 Wider scope of peripheral vision than what glasses provide.
 May be safer for eye health than wearing contact lenses for an extended period of time.
 New visual freedom for all aspects of life.

Astigmatism is the result of the general inability of the eye to clearly focus images from any distance. It results from uneven curvatures of the cornea. Instead of being spherical, it is more similar to the side of an egg. This focusing problem usually occurs in combination with nearsightedness, or farsightedness. People with astigmatism need to use cylindrical correction in their glasses.

This is a focusing problem caused by an eyeball that is shorter than normal. Due to the reduced length, the lens fails to bring light rays to a focal point by the time they reach the retina. The effects of farsightedness vary with age because of the diminishing flexibility of the lens. Young people may not notice any effects. But as the eyes begin to age, near objects become increasingly difficult to see. Later in life nearly all focal ranges may be unclear. Farsighted people need to use plus powered spectacles to see clearly.

It is the most common focusing problem, affecting a significant proportion of the Indian population. Nearsighted people can see various ranges of near objects clearly but not distant objects. Nearsightedness usually results from an eyeball that is too long. Because of this extra length, light from distant objects converges to a focal point before it reaches the retina at the back of the eye. Beyond the focal point, the light then begins to diverge. Since the retina only captures the quality of the image that reaches it, the brain receives a blurred image of what the eye is trying to see.

Nearsighted people need to wear minus-powered spectacles or contact lenses to see clearly.

Focusing problems of the eye, which require correction by glasses or contact lenses, are called refractive errors. These are:
 Myopia, also called shortsightedness or nearsightedness
 Hypermetropia (Hyperopia) also called or longsightedness or farsightedness
 Astigmatism R11; those using cylindrical correction in their glasses

You aqe probably a candidate for iLASIK if:
 You are at least 18 years of age.
Have had stable vision for the past one year (slight prescription changes may not disqualify you.)
Have corneas of adequate thickness as measured by Corneal Pachymetry and normal shape (determined by Corneal Topography).
 Be free from complicating eye diseases (assessed individually).
 Be free from systemic illnesses, Collagen vascular disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjögrens Syndrome, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, etc.
 Not be pregnant or nursing.
Be off contact lenses for 1-3 weeks prior to the surgery (this varies with the type of contact lens R11; soft or semi-soft).
The reality is that the majority of people who meet the age and general health requirements are in fact good candidate for the iLASIK procedure. There are some conditions that exclude certain patients, but whether you have nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, there good chance you can still have the iLASIK procedure.
Now that you have learned the basics about the iLASIK procedure, you should:
1. Schedule a consultation with your iLASIK surgeon to determine if you are a good candidate for the iLASIK procedure.
2. Get comfortable with the procedure by getting answers to all of your questions from the doctor/counselor/optometrist.
3. Schedule your iLASIK procedure and understand the post-surgery treatment regimen If you meet the basic criteria above, you should consult your iLASIK surgeon and have a personal consultation.
The iLASIK procedure has unsurpassed safety & precision. It is innovative, individualized, and the results are incredible. You can afford it.

As with any surgical procedure, LASIK surgery has some possible risks and side effects that must be taken into account. A specific end result cannot be guaranteed, although it can be closely predicted based on data from thousands of previous casesSide effects are usually minimal following iLASIK surgery. During the first few days after surgery, most people can expect to experience at least some of these effects:
 Red spots on the white part of the eyes which totally clear up in 2 to 3 weeks.
 Increased sensitivity to light or glare for the first 2 to 3 days
 Gritty and burning sensation in the eyes.
 Slightly drier eyes.
Decreased visual clarity in dim light.
In most cases, these effects decrease and eventually disappear as the eye heals. Occasionally, some may persist.
Serious complications are fortunately very rare with iLASIK. Some of these include infection, wrinkles in the flap, epithelial in growth and increased or decreased response to correction. These complications are treatable with medication or further surgery.
Clinical studies results showed that one year after treatment:
 100 percent of nearsighted patients and more than 95 percent of all clinical study patients could pass a driving test without glasses or contact lenses.
 98 percent of mile-to-moderated nearsighted patients and almost three-quarters of all clinical study patients could see 6/6 or better without glasses or contact lenses.
 Four times as many mild-to-moderately nearsighted participants were very satisfied with their night vision after treatment compared to their night vision before treatment with glasses or contact lenses.

The iLASIK procedure is a completely integrated and personalized procedure based on advanced vision correction technology at every step. At Saraswati Nethralaya, the iLASIK procedure combines the IntraLaseTM method of creating the corneal flap with the Advanced CustomVueTM excimer laser treatment for vision correction.

Step 1 Creating Your Personal Vision Profile
The first step in the iLASIK procedure is to perform a series of tests to determine the individual characteristics of your vision, including the use of our WaveScan technology. The WaveScan system creates a 3-D map of the unique imperfections of your eyes. Then our Advanced CustomVueTM process uses the digital information from that map to design a custom treatment for each of your eyes.

Step 2 Making the iLASIK Flap
As described previously, the iLASIK procedure exclusively uses an advanced technology called the IntraLaseTM Method, which is a 100% blade-free approach to creating your corneal flap. The IntraLaseTM Mehod also delivers outstanding visual results R11; more patients achieve vision that is 6/6 or better when the IntraLaseTM Method is used. And in a clinical survey of LASIK patients who had their corneal flaps created using a blade in one eye and the IntraLaseTM Method in the other, the vision in the IntraLaseTM -treated eye was preferred 3 to 1 (among those who stated a preference).

Now that you've had your personal vision profile using WaveScan technology and your blade free corneal flap using the exclusive IntraLaseTM Method, your vision can be corrected using the Advanced CustomVueTM treatment within the iLASIK procedure. With the Advanced CustomVueTM treatment it is possible to correct all types of refractive errors, including mild-to-severe nearsightedness, farsightedness and all types of astigmatism. It can improve the overall quality of vision by correcting Higher Order Aberrations (vision problems not correctable by glasses or contact lenses). This translates into better vision for driving at night, and lack of glare and haloes.

Since the Femtosecond laser is a high precision laser device, your corneal flaps can be made as accurately as your doctor desires. This means that if your doctor needs to make a thinner flap in case you have a higher spectacle power or a thin cornea, the IntraLaseTM method ensures that this is achieved.

Since the flaps made by the IntraLaseTM method, are of uniform thickness throughout, they can be precisely repositioned, and aligned after LASIK is completed. Hence, flap slippage and wrinkles extremely rare

In the IntraLaseTM method the surface of the flap and the underlying corneal bed surface are extremely smooth. This improves the accuracy of the LASIK procedure giving a better visual outcome. With the IntraLaseTM method it is possible to make flaps in flat or steep corneas, without complications of free cap or buttonholing.

Combining the IntraLaseTM method for flap creation with Advanced CustomVue excimer laser vision treatment results in precise, safe and effective vision correction. This combination of technologies has been used for military pilots and astronauts, who demand the clearest, most precise vision possible.

In the latest technique of i-LASIK or Blade-free LASIK, this flap is created not by an oscillating blade, but by an advanced technology called the IntralaseTM Method. The IntraLaseTM method uses a specialized laser called Femtosecond laser instead of an oscillating blade for creating the corneal flap, the thin flap of tissue that the doctor folds back in order to perform your excimer laser vision correction. This is achieved by focusing laser energy at a precise location below the surface of the cornea. By placing thousands of such individual laser pulses side by side one can create a cut within the cornea without the use of a blade. This means that for your entire laser vision correction procedure no blade will touch your eye, making the new iLASIK procedure extremely safe.

The vision may be blurry for the first few hours after surgery but it gradually improves. Few patients may have a mild discomfort in the first two hours after the procedure. However, this is easily relieved by pain-killing medication. Patients are encouraged to rest for a day after the surgery. The precautions, which need to be taken post-operatively, are to avoid rubbing and squeezing the eyes. Avoid splashing water to the face or directly into the eyes. Instillation of eye drops would start immediately after the surgery and will continue for approximately two weeks. Most patients have functional vision and can resume normal activities and work within a few days. In iLASIK, good vision is attained in 2-3 days. You will have follow up examinations on the day after the surgery, after the first week, one month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months later.

Q Am I a candidate for the ICL?
A Yes, if you have nearsightedness, and / or astigmatism and no eye disease. ICL for farsightedness is also available.

Q What are the advantages of the ICL?
A lens is small, foldable, and injected through a tiny, pain free, self healing incision in your eye. ICL provides highly predictable outcomes, excellent quality of vision and can be removed if necessary.

Q How quickly can I go back to my daily routine & activities?
A Due to the quick recovery after this treatment, you can leave the centre after a couple of hours. You will be able to enjoy your new sight almost immediately and go back to your active lifestyle. Your surgeon will give you detailed advice.

Q What if my vision changes?
A Though unlikely, if during your annual eye exam a major change in your vision is observed, the ICL can be removed or replaced. With the ICL you can still wear glasses or contact lenses if necessary. The lens does not treat presbyopia or eliminate the need for reading glasses due to age.

Q What is the long-term experience with ICL?
A The ICL has been available internationally for over 12 years. More than 65,000 lenses have been implanted since then.

The ICL thus provides a high quality of vision, and is a highly precise and predictable treatment providing exceptional patient satisfaction for patients unsuitable for LASIK

Q Am I a candidate for the ICL?
A Yes, if you have nearsightedness, and / or astigmatism and no eye disease. ICL for farsightedness is also available.

Q What are the advantages of the ICL?
A lens is small, foldable, and injected through a tiny, pain free, self healing incision in your eye. ICL provides highly predictable outcomes, excellent quality of vision and can be removed if necessary.

Q How quickly can I go back to my daily routine & activities?
A Due to the quick recovery after this treatment, you can leave the centre after a couple of hours. You will be able to enjoy your new sight almost immediately and go back to your active lifestyle. Your surgeon will give you detailed advice.

Q What if my vision changes?
A Though unlikely, if during your annual eye exam a major change in your vision is observed, the ICL can be removed or replaced. With the ICL you can still wear glasses or contact lenses if necessary. The lens does not treat presbyopia or eliminate the need for reading glasses due to age.

Q What is the long-term experience with ICL?
A The ICLTM has been available internationally for over 12 years. More than 65,000 lenses have been implanted since then.

The ICL thus provides a high quality of vision, and is a highly precise and predictable treatment providing exceptional patient satisfaction for patients unsuitable for LASIK

Surgeons around the world have made the ICLTM their procedure of choice more than 65,000 times R11; not only for their patients, staff and family, but even for themselves.

1. The ICL is tiny and soft. The ICL can be folded so small that it can be injected painlessly into your eye in seconds through a tiny opening in your cornea so that it unfolds into position in the liquid between your iris and your natural lens and is easily accepted by your body.

2. The ICL is invisible R11; The ICL is placed inside your eye, rather than on the surface. The lens is invisible. The only way that you or anyone else will know that it is there, is the improvement in your eyesight.

3. ICL is removable  The lens is meant to remain permanently in the eye. However, it can be removed if necessary, since the lens does not alter any structures within the eye or the cornea.

4. The ICL works beyond the limits of laser treatment  The ICL is useful in cases beyond the limits of laser treatment (high minus and plus spectacle powers) and is the treatment of choice if you have thin corneas, dry eyes, or large pupils.

5. The Toric ICL treats two vision disorders in one procedure. The Toric ICL corrects you nearsightedness as well as your astigmatism in one single procedure. Each lens is custom made to meet the needs of each individual person.

6. The ICL provides high patient satisfaction  The ICL provides high quality of vision, and is a highly precise and predictable treatment providing exceptional patient satisfaction.

There is a small but unavoidable risk of infection but this is minimized by the full sterile theatre conditions. There is also a small possibility of damage to the structure of the eye, which could lead to cataracts, glaucoma, retinal complications, corneal decomposition and rejection.

Severely short-sighted people often have other eye problems such as damaged retinas and progressively deteriorating eyesight. The ICL cannot help or stop these associated conditions. In the event of complications, lens implants are potentially reversible

No procedure can be risk-free. Ultimately, the patient needs to make up their mind about the risk/benefit balance for the various options available to them to correct their high myopia or high hyperopia. Some patients need surgical correction of their severe focus error for safety reasons. Theoretically, the proximity of the ICL to the iris and lens raises the possibility of late onset lens opacities or pigment dispersion. Both these rare but potential problems (occurred in 0.4% patients in the FDA Study Group) are much more easily fixed than corneal complications following LASIK surgery. Current evidence supports ICLs as being a very effective and safe option for these patients.

The Implantable Contact Lens is designed to be placed in your eye and remain there permanently, but with increasing age if you develop a cataract significant enough to cause visual problems, then cataract removal with intraocular lens implantation can be done with removal of the ICL.

Results of surgery cannot be guaranteed and sometimes glasses may be required for sharpest vision, for night driving or other activities performed in low light, and for prolonged reading etc. Implantable Contact Lenses are designed to provide as close to normal vision as possible. People with normal distance vision benefit from wearing reading glasses for near work at some stage in their 40s. ICL patients experience this aging change just the same as normal people.

You will be able to go home on the same day and it is essential that you have someone to accompany you. You are free to leave the clinic as soon as you feel able, with padding over the eye to prevent infection. Although you may see some improvement in your vision as early as the first postoperative day but visual recovery may take several weeks to stabilize. You will be able to return to normal activities within 2-3 days following surgery and should be able to drive and be back to work within two weeks of the procedure. You will need to be seen again by your surgeon on the day after surgery. Aftercare visits are required after one and three months, then as directed by the surgeon.

As part of the pre-operative work-up your surgeon will perform YAG Laser Iridotomy before the actual procedure, which consists of making two holes in your colored portion of the eye (Iris) to help ensure that intraocular fluid does not build up behind the ICL.

Prior to the ICL procedure you will be started on pre-operative medication including antibiotic drops, as per the surgeon's requirements. The ICL implantation procedure is performed in a specialist ophthalmic theatre. Local anesthetics will be used to numb the eye.

The lens is inserted through a small incision in the side of the cornea and sits in front of the eye's natural lens, just behind the cornea. Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops are then administered to avoid infection and the whole procedure takes around 30 minutes. As a precautionary measure, the lenses are implanted one at a time, allowing a minimum recovery time of one week between treatments. Once the first has fully settled, the second eye receives its ICL.

ICL work-up and treatment at Saraswati Nethralaya is performed by our experienced staff and surgeons. An initial consultation will confirm suitability. Each patient then goes through a comprehensive series of eye tests and examinations (including manifest, cycloplegic and post-mydriatic refraction, corneal topography, pachymetry, and thorough retina check-up) before consulting with the surgeon to discuss and plan the specifics of personal vision correction. If one decides to go ahead with the treatment, the lenses will be made to the exact specifications and will be ready in two weeks. If you wear contact lenses, you will be required to stay off them prior to your check-up (Soft lenses for 2 weeks and rigid lenses for 4 weeks).

Because each personR17;s eyes are different, your surgeon must choose the best treatment for your specific disorder. The Implantable Contact Lens (ICLTM) is capable of correcting most refractive disorders as well as those where conventional laser treatment (LASIK, PRK, etc.) may not be advisable. Implantable Contact Lenses are best suited for patients with high nearsightedness or high farsightedness with problems wearing contact lenses. More specific guidelines of ICL eligibility could include:
Extreme nearsightedness (especially if thin corneas would raise the risk of LASIK-induced problems)
Extreme farsightedness
Corneas too thin to have safe LASIK or even Epi-LASIK
Older than 21 years with a stable refraction for 2 years or more and not pregnant
Dry eyes or large pupil

The Implantable Contact Lens is a very thin, foldable lens, which is inserted into the eye through a tiny sutureless corneal incision during a 30-minute local anesthetic procedure. Each ICL is specially designed and custom-made to fit the patient's own unique anatomy. It lies behind the iris and in front of the lens, without touching the central lens. The ICL is reversible and can correct near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism.

The Implantable Contact Lens (ICL) is indicated for patients unsuitable for LASIK with extremes of myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness) and/or astigmatism (cylindrical powers).

They are designed to correct visual problems much the same way as an external contact lens. Unlike external contact lens, Implantable Contact Lenses are placed inside the eye behind the iris (colored part of the eye) and in front of the eye's natural lens. Unlike LASIK, the ICL is a reversible procedure.

It is an artificial lens made from material similar to the type used for intraocular lenses currently being implanted in cataract surgery that is placed inside your eye in addition to your natural lens.

If your glass power is too high, or if your corneas are too thin, then you are probably unsuitable for LASIK or even epi-LASIK. Saraswati Nethralaya and its dedicated team of refractive surgeons offer you a safe alternative. The Implantable contact Lens (ICL) is a new and safe treatment option for patients with extremes of myopia (near-sightedness) and hyperopia (far-sightedness).