Alternatives to Lasik

LASIK and other laser-assisted methods are not the only surgical options for correcting your vision. There are several others you may want to consider:

  • Phakik Intraocular Lenses (IOLS)
  • Cataract surgery
  • Conductive Keratoplasty (CK)
  • Refractive Lens Exchange
  • Radical Keratotomy (RK)
  • Intact

Phakik Intraocular Lenses (IOLs)

For patients with refractive errors too severe for correction with the more common cornea refractive surgery, A Phakik IOL, sometimes called an “implantable contact lens” can be used. It is surgically placed on the inside of the eye, right in front of the eye’s own natural lens. The Phakik IOL is adjusted to redirect light rays through the natural lens and thus correct the vision.

Cataract Surgery

The presence of cataracts basically means that the eye’s lens is no longer clear, usually due to the aging process. As the lens becomes more and more cloudy, problems such as blurred vision, impaired night vision, and being unable to see things clearly become problems. Cataracts are a leading cause of vision problems and blindness worldwide.

While reading glasses and brighter lighting can help in the early stages, cataract surgery to remove the lens is the only cure. Basically, the clouded lens is removed and replaced with a clear plastic lens. With today’s lens technologies, other vision problems can also be corrected by cataract surgery, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

A topical anesthetic is used and the surgery is short, usually 15–30 minutes. You are awake the entire time and most people experience no pain. A small incision is made in the cornea (with either a blade or a laser), the old lens is removed and the new one inserted. The incision is so small that stitches are rarely needed.

Cataract surgery is very safe and advances in techniques and technology have made it even safer. A study of over 200,000 Medicare patients who had cataract surgery revealed that 99.5% had no serious complications after surgery. Since cataract surgery is virtually the only cure for what can be serious problems due to cataracts, the high success rate is particularly comforting.

Refractive Lens Exchange (Clear Lens Extraction, or CLE)

Just as the name suggests, this procedure replaces your natural biological lens with an artificial lens to improve your vision. This is almost identical to cataract surgery. It’s chosen by some people in order to avoid waiting for the progressive vision loss caused by cataracts. Other people choose it if they have severe farsightedness, for which LASIK may not be recommended.

Since it involves replacing an otherwise healthy lens, it is not approved by the FDA. This does not mean it can’t be performed, but it does mean that it’s considered “off-label”.

Conductive Keratoplasty (CK)

CK is a non-surgical procedure designed specifically to treat moderate or better farsightedness in patients older than 40.

CK uses controlled amounts of radio frequency (RF) energy to apply heat to the outer part of the cornea in order to reshape it. The heat causes the outer portion of the conea to shrink and tighten, much like a belt. This increases the cornea’s curvature, refocuses light rays on the retina and as a result enhances vision.

However, this is only a temporary correction. For most people, their farsightedness will return over time.

Radical Keratotomy (RK)

RK is an older surgical model that uses a very sharp blade, rather than a laser, to slice one or more slits in the cornea in order to change its shape. It only corrects myopia (nearsightedness).

RK is rarely performed today for several reasons:

  • It’s extremely invasive.
  • It requires an overnight stay in the hospital.
  • PRK surgery is for one eye at a time only. The second eye is done a month later, after the first one heals.
  • It only corrects one vision problem: nearsightedness.

Intacs

Intacs is a procedure that inserts tiny, clear, crescent-shaped rings into the cornea in order achieve long-term vision improvement.

The FDA has approved Intacs for two conditions:

  1. Keratoconus, a disorder that causes the cornea to gradually change from a round shape to a cone shape. Intacs solves this by restoring the cornea’s orginal round shape.
  2. Mild nearsightedness.

It can also reduce nearsightedness, although that is not an approved use by the FDA.

While Intacs can improve some vision problems, most patients will still need to wear eyeglasses or contacts for perfect vision.