refractive eye surgery- negative implant

[madalina24]

Hi,
Please help me with information about the risks of refractive surgery by making a negative implant.
I have high myopia of -8.5 and astigmatism of aprox 0.75. I have been wearing contact lenses for about 8 years, but I am not comfortable with them. I still have some hope that I may find a certain type of contact lens with which I will feel comfortable all day long, regardless of the hours spent in front of the computer, but I kind of lost my confidence.
I would like to have these surgery but I do not know if it is going to be worse after the surgery than before. If my vision will not be entirely corrected with the surgery can I wear contact lens?
I will appreciate any information about the risks and benefits of this surgery.
P.S. Does anyone know if this surgery increases the chances to have eye problems when being pregnant?
Thank you in advance for your help,
Madalina

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

DearMadalina,

I cannot determine from your description above which type of procedure has been recommended.  You might also be a candidate for laser vision correction or for implantable collamer lens, known as phakic implants.  These types of implants do have risks and benefits; however, many people can be lens free after this type of surgery and it is nothing short of miraculous.  If your vision is not completely corrected, you may wear a contact lens.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[londonbridge]

I have a similar perscription and have tried AcrySof Oaysis contact lens and find it very comfortable. I use Sauflon Hydrogen Peroxide cleaning system ( can't be put directly in the eye) to soak my lens overnight and then put cushioning drops in before I put the lens in. I find this to be fairly comfortable.
Definately think twice before undergoing any type of refractive surgery and seek several expert medical opinions both on this forum and with surgeons highly experienced. Not sure if you meant Laser vision correction or actual surgery to put in an implant.

[madalina24]

Hi,
Thank you for the advice, can you tell me what is the brand that produces the contact lens you mentioned. I have tried looking for them on google but most of the results were about intraocular lens, which are the type of lens used for eye surgery, I don't think these are the one you use. The intraocular lens are introduced in the eye and this is the refractive surgery I was mentioning in my question.
Thank you, I am so looking forward to try them as now I am using PureVision Toric from Bausch&Lomb and I really cannot wear them more than 3 hours without having a terrible headache and very dry eyes.

[londonbridge]

My contact lenses are made by the Alcon company. I believe they are more comfortable than most because they have silicone in them. They also come in a toric version, which I have tried.
I do have one eye that I had an IOL implant put in for an early cataract. That IOL is also made by the Alcon company. I do not recommend getting an IOL if you do not have cataracts. There are risks such as retinal detachment ( up to 10x higher than eyes without an IOL and the risk is greater for myopes). If you are still considering an IOL I would urge you strongly to read posts from the docs and the other members of this forum about the many many problems with so called premium lenses either multifocal (Restor and Rezoom) on Accomodating (Crystalens). If you got an monofocal lens, it would only be set for one distance and you would lose either your up close vision (something we myopes are used to having) or your distance. You could do a blended vision( slightly different in each eye). No insurance will cover putting an IOL in unless you have  a medical need such is a cataract.
There is also laser vision correction for myopia and some additional procedures for astigmatism. If you tend toward dry eyes laser may not be the way to go.
Hope the contact works out for you. I think it may. Good luck

[madalina24]

Thank you for your answers,

I will try to be more precise about the type of surgery I was recommended, altough I cannot describe it only in scientific terms, these terms are far beyond my understanding.
The doctor who examined me said he will introduce an artificial lens - a negative lens implant- in the eye which will correct my natural lens (he did not say what type of lens he will introduce, just that he will leave my natural lens and add an artificial one to correct my vision). Laser surgery is excluded in my case. My worries regard the possibility of having retinal detachment after the surgery or increased chances of having cataract at an early age. Also if I make this surgery do I also have to ask for a particular type of lens to be implanted?
Prof Feldman, please let me know about the risks I have mentioned above. Thank you!

Thank you londonbridge for your answers, I have talked yesterday with a girl that had this type of surgery, she was very excited as she does not need glasses or contact lens, she won again her confidence in her looks. But she still did not totally convinced me about doing the surgery, I am trully afraid of the possible bad risks of the surgery.
PS I do not have cataract so I will keep myself far from IOL implant. As you said I will try first Alcon contact lens and see how I feel. Many thanks for your advice!

[JodieJ]

I think your doctor was referring to phakic IOLs, which are like contact lenses worn inside the eyes.  If you type "phakic IOL" in the search feature of this website (upper right corner of screen), you should pull up some links.  I read a glowing report about these lenses in the newspaper, but Dr. Hagan seemed to view them negatively.  You could try posting another question if you want more input from the forum docs.