If you’re not a candidate for LASIK corrective laser surgery or no longer want to deal with glasses or regular contact lenses, there’s a better alternative: permanent contact lenses. While installing permanent contact lenses is appealing and beneficial, it may not be suitable for everyone. Read on to learn about permanent contact lenses UK and how much they cost.
What are Permanent Contact Lenses?
Permanent contact lenses are a type of artificial lens that can be implanted in the eyes. An example of a permanent contact lens is the implantable Collamer lens which is usually placed between the eyes’ natural lens and the iris. Another name for it is a phakic intraocular lens (PIOLs).
The most common type of PIOL implanted in the UK is the Visian intraocular Collamer lens (ICL), a soft and flexible implant that sits behind the pupil and the front of the natural eye’s lens. The ICL biocompatible material is made of collagen and polymer, so it doesn’t cause discomfort or pain.
These PIOLs differ from the artificial lenses used in cataract surgery, where the implanted lens replaces the eye’s natural lens.
Who are Permanent Contact Lenses best for?
Permanent contact lenses are best for people who don’t want to rely on regular contact lenses or glasses for the rest of their life but aren’t suitable for laser eye surgery. It’s perfect for people with astigmatism, where the transparent layer of the eye, the cornea, is irregularly shaped. Doctors can also use an implantable contact lens to treat high prescriptions of myopia (shortsightedness) and hyperopia (longsightedness).
Implantable Contact Lens Treatment
The only way to get implantable contact lens treatment is through surgery. If you’re asking, “How much are permanent contact lenses?” know that the procedure is considered cosmetic surgery and is not covered by insurance. So, permanent lens surgery may be a bit costly for some people.
Two major types of lenses are used for surgery: Visian EVO and toric lenses. However, the most common one we use at Belson is the Visian lens.
The procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes in the eye surgeon’s office. You’d have to see the surgeon a week before the surgery, so they’d use a laser to make incisions between the front and natural lens. This will prevent pressure and fluid buildup. You may also be given anti-inflammatory eye drops or antibiotics days before the surgery.
During the procedure, the eye surgeon will administer a local anaesthetic, so you don’t feel anything during the surgery and will use a lid speculum to hold your eyelids apart.
After preparations, the surgeon will make a small incision in your eye and apply lubricant to protect your cornea. Then they will insert the thin implantable contact lens through the incision.
After removing the lubricant, the surgeon would have to stitch the incision. After the surgeon is done with that, they apply eye drops and cover the eye with a patch.
After the procedure, the doctor might prescribe eye drops to help with the pain. You would have to visit the clinic the following day to observe and check the healing progress. Within the following year, you would have to go for follow-up visits 1 month and 6 months after surgery.
Criteria for Implantable Contact Lenses
To get permanent contact lenses in the UK, you must be older than 18. You must also have a prescription for shortsightedness of up to -17 and longsightedness of less than +6, which has been stable for a year or more. Implantable contact lenses can also treat an astigmatism prescription of up to ±4.50.
If you fall under any of the following categories, you might not be suitable for the surgery. They include:
- Suffering from cataracts, glaucoma, or inflammation
- Taking medications associated with vision changes
- 45 years and older
- If you are pregnant or breastfeeding
- Have a condition that inhibits proper wound healing
How Safe are Permanent Contact Lenses?
ICL is considered safe and has existed for over twenty years. However, chances of risks are reduced when you visit professional eye experts as they would follow best practices while performing surgery.
However, like any form of eye surgery, ICL comes with risks during the procedure and recovery. The various types of lenses have individual risks, and the surgeon will inform you about the ones relevant to you.
Common risks associated with ICL surgery include vision loss, blurry vision, early cataracts, cloudy cornea, an eye infection, or glaucoma.
Benefits of Permanent Contact Lenses
Permanent contact lenses are a relatively safe procedure to correct a person’s vision. Healing time is very fast, and many patients return to normal activities immediately after the procedure. You can go about your daily activities without glasses or contact lenses. Also, during implantation, the corneal nerves won’t be disrupted, so there won’t be any case of dry eyes.
Aside from improved vision, there are other benefits of ICL:
- It improves night vision
- Recovery is very fast because no tissues are removed
- It’s meant to be permanent, but the lens be removed
- This is an ideal procedure if you have chronic dry eyes; it’s less likely to cause further dry eyes
- It can correct severe nearsightedness that other surgeries can’t correct.
- It’s user-friendly and requires no daily maintenance or cleaning
- The lens does not need to be removed daily and can stay in the eye for as long as you want.
- It’s a great option for those who can’t undergo LASIK surgery because of the irregular cornea, large pupils, or extremely high prescriptions.
Contact – Belson & Sons Opticians
As you can see, apart from generally improved vision, there are many benefits associated with Visian ICL permanent contact lenses UK. Remember that ICL is a relatively safe procedure, and risks are way reduced when you seek the services of reliable eye experts. Implantable contact lenses may be your best bet if you can’t get LASIK surgery done for your eyes.
Belson Opticians has been in operation since 1955 and has vast experience treating eye conditions for clients in London and Essex.