hello everyone this is dr audrey tai lasik cataract surgeon ophthalmologist and cornea
specialist welcome back to my channel Eye channel by eye surgeon in today's video
i would like to talk to you about the lesser known type of refractive surgery icl surgery
to help you have a better understanding about your options when considering refractive surgery
if you have learned anything new from this video don't forget to like and share this video and
subscribe to my channel to help me bring you more videos about eye health and eye surgery
you probably have already heard about lasik surgery for correcting near-sightedness
and astigmatism to eliminate glasses and contact lenses however not many of us have heard about
icl surgery as a refractive surgery option what is icl surgery how does it work are there risks
with icl surgery we're going to cover all of those questions in today's video feel free to navigate
to different video segments by clicking the video time codes below to find answers to your questions
icl stands for implantable collamer lens also called implantable contact lens an
icl lens is made out of a bio-compatible collamer material that sits inside of the
eye without altering the shape or the anatomy of the eye icl surgery is a surgical procedure to
implant an icl lens inside of the eye to correct both nearsightedness as well as astigmatism
in the u.s the type of icl lens available is called the visian icl lens the visian icl lens
received fda approval in 2005 and the stigmas and correction version of visiting icl lens
was approved by the fda in 2018. by 2019 over a million visian icl lenses have been implanted all
across the world so there is sufficient data to prove both the safety and efficacy of icl surgery
icl surgery is done similarly as lasik surgery as an outpatient procedure
and it typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the surgical portion of the procedure
before the icl procedure your surgeon may perform a laser procedure to place two small openings in
the iris prior to the icl surgery and after the procedure you go home the same day and do not need
to stay overnight in the in the surgery center in the u.s most icl surgeons perform bilateral
surgery on the same day during the surgery you typically receive conscious sedation through oral
sedatives or iv sedation the icl surgery itself is painless and after surgery you typically will
be on different kinds of eye drops from a couple of weeks to a month depending on your personal
needs and surgeons preferences vision improvement after icl surgery is fairly quick
you'll notice improvement of your vision without glasses shortly after the icl
procedure and you can potentially have a small amount of vision fluctuation in the following
days or weeks it rarely takes more than a month for full vision recovery you're probably thinking
if both lasik surgery and icl surgery are vision correction surgery option to correct near sickness
and astigmatism how do you choose one versus the other and which one is the right procedure for you
let's go over the differences between those two procedures
both lasik and icl surgeries were being performed starting in the early 1990s in the u.s
lasik surgery is a cornea based laser vision correction surgery
the procedure is performed on the surface of the eye on the structure called cornea
which is a clear dome-shaped structure that functions as a windshield of our eye
i perform all laser lasik surgery for my patients during the procedure two types of laser are used
first the femtosecond laser creates a thin corneal flap
and the flap is lifted then the excimer laser ablates cornea tissue to alter the
shape of the cornea in order to correct our vision by correcting our glasses prescription
after the excimer laser ablation the cornea flap is placed back down
the amount of tissue ablation and the shape change of a cornea is proportional to the
strength of a glasses prescription therefore the higher our glasses prescription the more
tissue of the cornea will be ablated altering the shape of our cornea more
icl surgery is an intraocular surgery that does not affect
the cornea icl surgery corrects vision by implanting an icl lens inside of the eye
the implant sits behind iris which is the color part of our eye and in front of our natural lens
because the icl procedure does not alter the cornea it is a great option for people who
are not a laser candidate due to different corneal conditions as i mentioned before
the amount of tissue ablation during lasik surgery is proportional to the glasses prescription
therefore people who have moderate to high nearsightedness may have cornea that's too thin to
qualify for lasik surgery or other types of cornea based laser vision correction also for patients or
people who have significant dry disease prior to refractive surgery they can also be a good
candidate for icl surgery instead of lasik because icl surgery does not involve any corneal tissue
ablation will change the corneal shape it does not affect the natural sensitivity of the cornea
dry disease is less of a concern when choosing icl surgery lastly for people with moderate to high
nearsightedness large amount of corner tissue removal during lasik surgery can potentially
affect the quality of vision after surgery due to the large amount of corneal shape change
icl surgery does not involve any shape change or tissue removal at the time of surgery and
many studies have shown the quality of vision and night vision are better for people with moderate
to high near-sightedness with icl surgery compared to corneal-based refractive surgery
the other difference between lasik surgery and icl surgery is that lasik surgery is a permanent
procedure that alters the shape of the cornea and can be enhanced with additional procedures
if needed while icl surgery is reversible as icl lens is removable if desired at a later time
now we have learned how icl surgery differs from lasik surgery
it is important to remember that icl surgery is not for everyone
because it is an intraocular procedure which means we enter into the eye at the time of the
surgery and more precautions need to be taken to reduce risks of infection during surgery
also there are more tests and steps needed prior to icl procedure to avoid any short-term pressure
spike of the eye after icl surgery because the icl lens is placed in the eye during icl surgery
there are strict screening criteria for anatomical features of the eye to ensure there is sufficient
space in the front part of the eye called anterior chamber to allow safe icl implantation
therefore people who have very crowded structure at the front part of their eye
as well as people who have anatomical features that increase the risk of developing glaucoma
by obstructing the fluid flow inside of the eye are not good candidates for icl surgery
therefore the choice of which type of refractive surgery is right for you really depends on your
glasses prescription and the anatomy of your eye as well as your occupation and lifestyle
it is important to remember icl surgery just like any other eye surgery it has specific risks
so it is very important for you to discuss with your eye surgeon about your case and come up with
a surgical plan together to choose the type of refractive surgery that is right for you
i hope you find this video helpful in learning more about icl surgery and refractive surgery
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thank you again for watching and i look forward to seeing you in my next video