What is Refractive Surgery?
Refractive Surgery is eye surgery meant to decrease or eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses. Most commonly we think of this as “LASIK”, but there are many other types of refractive surgery, including PRK, ICL and Refractive Lens Exchange. It is vital to match the right type of refractive surgery to the specifics of your condition, including your age and the amount of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism that your eyes have. Dr. Parekh is the only refractive surgeon in the area offering such a wide array of options.
Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE)
While LASIK and PRK reshape the cornea, refractive lens exchange (RLE) replaces the natural lens of your eye with an intra-ocular lens. This lens implant is better suited to your eye, and reduces the need for glasses and contact lenses. It can be used to correct low, moderate or high amounts of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism.
RLE works best for patients beyond age 40-45, but is sometimes used in younger patients who are moderately or severely far-sighted. It also eliminates the need for the patient to ever need cataract surgery in the future.
You may be a good candidate for RLE if:
- your prescription falls outside the accepted range for laser refractive procedures
- you have extreme near or farsightedness
- you may otherwise not be an ideal candidate for vision correction procedures