Are you struggling to see menus at your favorite restaurant? Do you find yourself holding things at an arm’s distance away from yourself because your vision is no longer what it once was?
With age, you may need reading glasses to see well up close. But reading glasses can be inconvenient.
Although they can help you read small print and do other fine-focus tasks, they make it harder to see at different distances, meaning you can’t wear them for everything. Remembering to bring your readers wherever you go and constantly taking them on and off can be a massive frustration.
If you’re tired of the song and dance of wearing reading glasses, you can stop depending on them by having a procedure called refractive lens exchange (RLE). Keep reading to learn more about refractive lens exchange and why the procedure can help you finally say goodbye to reading glasses!
Why Do You Need Reading Glasses?
Presbyopia is an age-related eye condition that makes it hard to see up close. This is due to your natural lens becoming less flexible over time.
Your lens is supposed to change shape to focus, but as it becomes less flexible, it cannot focus as well as it once could. The lens losing its flexibility makes it hard to focus up close.
The most common way to treat presbyopia is with reading glasses. Reading glasses have convex lenses to magnify the things you see up close, making them look more prominent and easier to see.
The convex lenses also bend light rays entering the eye, allowing them to focus directly on the retina. Reading glasses also reduce eye strain and fatigue, a common side effect of presbyopia.
Reading glasses are the most common treatment for presbyopia, but they aren’t the only option. Choosing a procedure like refractive lens exchange can help you achieve better vision while reducing and potentially eliminating your dependence on reading glasses.
What is Refractive Lens Exchange?
Refractive lens exchange is a minimally invasive procedure that removes the natural lens from the eye. The natural lens is then replaced with an intraocular lens or IOL.
There are many kinds of IOLs available. Some provide crystal-clear vision at a broader range of distances. Many can also significantly reduce or eliminate your dependence on reading glasses!
Dell Laser Consultants offers some of the most advanced and state-of-the-art IOLs, including the PanOptix Multifocal lens, the Vivity IOL, the Light Adjustable Lens, and more. These IOLs provide the crisp, clear vision you’ve always wanted while freeing you from visual aids like reading glasses.
Refractive lens exchange is an outpatient procedure, meaning you can go home the same day after it’s over. You’ll receive numbing eye drops before the procedure at Dell Laser Consultants begins.
The numbing eye drops prevent you from feeling any pain during refractive lens exchange and will keep you comfortable during the procedure. The procedure is easy, and you’ll be back home before you know it since it only takes about an hour to complete.
Once you’re home, you can look forward to a recovery with minimal discomfort and improved vision in the days and weeks after refractive lens exchange. If you’re tired of depending on reading glasses and want to improve your vision, why not consider refractive lens exchange?
What are the Benefits of Having Refractive Lens Exchange?
Refractive lens exchange does more than reduce your dependence on reading glasses. In addition to reducing your dependence on reading glasses, refractive lens exchange and the IOL you choose could help you reduce your reliance on other visual aids as well.
Patients who choose a premium IOL called the Light Adjustable Lens can custom-tailor their vision to their exact, precise visual needs after healing from refractive lens exchange. The Light Adjustable Lens is the only IOL that provides patients with wholly customized vision.
Depending on your needs and visual desires, you could choose to see clearly without depending on any visual aid, including prescription glasses and contact lenses. If you have astigmatism, you may want a toric IOL.
Toric IOLs are intraocular lenses that correct astigmatism specifically. Many premium IOLs also come in toric models, meaning you can still experience the benefits of incredible vision at all distances while correcting astigmatism during refractive lens exchange.
Although refractive lens exchange cannot guarantee total freedom from reading glasses, choosing a premium IOL can significantly reduce your dependence on them and may, in many cases, eliminate the need for them. Premium IOLs more reliably eliminate the need for prescription glasses and contact lenses, making refractive lens exchange an excellent option for vision correction if you’re over 40.
One of the Best Vision Correction Procedures for Adults Over 40
If you’re over 40, you’re more likely to develop presbyopia. Many eye doctors recommend refractive lens exchange rather than other vision correction procedures like LASIK if you’re over 40.
LASIK can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism but doesn’t correct presbyopia. Refractive lens exchange can correct presbyopia and refractive errors. If you’re over 40 with some degree of presbyopia and want to improve your vision, refractive lens exchange is worth considering.
However, refractive lens exchange has another benefit that makes it highly appealing to potential patients. Not only does it improve your vision and the effects of presbyopia, but it also means you’ll never have to worry about developing cataracts later in life.
Refractive Lens Exchange vs. Cataract Surgery
Refractive lens exchange is virtually the same as cataract surgery. Both procedures involve removing the eye’s natural lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens to see clearly.
However, the most significant difference between the two procedures is that cataract surgery removes the natural lens and the cataract that’s formed on it. When you have refractive lens exchange, there is no cataract on the lens.
However, because a cataract cannot develop on an intraocular lens, it ensures you cannot have cataracts when you get refractive lens exchange. Instead, you can look forward to decades of crisp, clear vision and never have to worry about needing cataract surgery or the worries of impaired vision due to cataracts.
Are you ready to find out if you could be a good candidate for refractive lens exchange? Learn more by requesting your appointment at Dell Laser Consultants in Austin, TX, today! Why not take a chance at better vision and change your life now?
