Suggestion on ICL Operation

[ICler]

Hi All,
I have a High power eye sight.I would like to know whether I am suitable for ICl . If yes I would like to know in what range the surgery will be costing in india

Right Eye :
power : -9, Cyclinder : 3 , Axis =10
Left Eye :
power : -9.75, Cyclinder : 3.50 , Axis =170

[flossy93]

So glad the information was helpful to you.

Given your age, prescription and degree of astigmatism, I can understand why you are considering the ICL procedure.  

I am a lot more nearsighted than you, but because I have only mild astigmatism I have been able to wear soft contacts lenses and get reasonable vision.  If you are stuck with glasses because of your combination of nearsightedness and astigmatism, it might be a good alternative.

Best of luck in your research and decision making process.  Try to develop a written list of questions for your surgeon based on the research you do.  It will help keep your thoughts organized when you are in the doctors' offices where things can feel rushed and you might otherwise forget to ask something important.  

You can also use your list of questions to compare the responses from a couple of different surgeons, to see if they all agree about whether you are a good candidate for ICL and what the potential risks might be, as well as the type of visual outcome you can expect.  Good luck!

[flossy93]

If toric ICLs are approved in your country, then you don't need any other incisions or wavefront to fix the astigmatism.  That is only needed for patients who can't have a toric ICL and need their astigmatism fixed a different way.

You should do some internet research on ICL surgery to get an idea of the risks and to help you come up with a list of questions for your surgeon.  There is a lot of information available through internet searches that will help you.

There are also YouTube videos of the ICL surgical procedure so you can see exactly what is involved with this surgery.  

There are some risks associated with ICL surgery, in addition to the risk of surgery itself (infection or post-surgical complications).  

There is a good overview of some of these risks in an article from 2012 which discussed the pros and cons of doing early cataract surgery for sphere/cylinder correction (this is called 'Refractive Lens Exchange" or RLE - not typically used when a patient is younger and can still focus on near objects without reading glasses) vs ICL surgery.

Here is a link to this article; I hope it is helpful in outlining for you some of the risks of ICL surgery.

http://bmctoday.net/crstodayeurope/2012/10/article.asp?f=decision-making-rle-versus-phakic-iols

One thing the article did not mention is that ICL surgery can complicate a later cataract surgery if you ever need it.  If you are a young person who is decades away from cataract surgery, this will probably not be a problem.  ICLs  have typically been studied in patients up to age 45-50.

If you are middle aged or older, the doctor may talk with you about RLE instead of an ICL so you don't end up needing cataract surgery shortly after your ICL is placed.

Good luck with your research and decision.

[flossy93]

In addition to being really nearsighted, you also have a lot of astigmatism (the Cylinder number).  

That means there is blurriness in your vision caused by the asymmetrical shape of your cornea.  It's different from the blurring caused by your high degree of nearsightedness, so you would need something to fix this too if you want ICL surgery and do not want to wear corrective lenses afterward.  Ways to fix astigmatism in your case include:

1. A toric ICL:  Toric lenses can correct both the nearsightedness and the astigmatism.  Unfortunately they are not available everywhere.  

I don't know if any toric ICLs have been approved in India; there are some in Europe but none has been approved in the US yet.

Unfortunately the astigmatism will still be there if you have a non-toric ICL implanted.

2. Incisions (called Limbal Relaxing Incisions or LRI) to relax your cornea and reduce the astigmatism.  Might be done at the same time as the ICL was implanted.

3.  You could wear glasses or surface contact lenses after a non-toric ICL was put in, to correct the astigmatism (I know, this somewhat defeats the purpose of the ICL surgery).

4.  Wavefront LASIK to adjust the curve of your cornea to reduce or eliminate the astigmatism

If you can't get a toric ICL and think you may want surgery with a 'regular' ICL, you can see what this vision would be like by wearing a non-toric contact lens that just corrects your nearsightedness (the -9 or -9.75 part of your prescription).

If you are wearing glasses only now and not contacts, your glasses probably correct for the astigmatism already.  So you may not realize how much impact it has on your vision.  

Be aware there are some complications of ICL surgery (in addition to the risk to your wallet of the cost) so please do your research and be thoroughly informed if you decide to go forward.  They do work out well for some people.

[ICler]

And Sorry for late replay as I was away from computer last week !!!

[ICler]

Thanks flossy93 for all the information and article link, it was very helpfull..

I am of 26 yrs old,so hopefully I am decades away from having cataract..
Currently,  I am doing research on pros and cons of ICL Surgery.
My Docter said that ICL lens with Centraflow technology is  available in india and if I decide for surgery he will be using this lenses

Thanks !!

[ICler]

Thanks flossy93 for replay,

My doctor suggested that  thickness of my cornea is less and it is not suitable for Lasik. I do not have keratoconus problem. But as the Cornea thickness is less there suggested me go for ICL. The toric lenses are approved in india, so there will be using toric lenses for my ICL surgery.

I would like to know the complication which may occur to  me in long term and how safe is this procedure as i have searched the internet and did not found much information on it ..

I am currently Wearing glasses .

My doctor didnt gave me any information on other procedure such as Incisions and  Wavefront LASIK to me

[ICler]

Thanks Dr O For replaying,

My doctor suggested that  thickness of my cornea is less and it is not suitable for Lasik. I do not have keratoconus problem. But as the Cornea thickness is less there suggested me go for ICL. The toric lenses are approved in india, so there will be using toric lenses for my ICL surgery.

I would like to know the complication which may occur to  me in long term and how safe is this procedure ..

As i am nbly 26yrs  old , will this will have any impact on my eye in next 15 - 20 yrs

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Refraction is not the only factor.  You are at the upper end for PRK or LASIK.  This would depend on your corneal thickness and if you have keratoconus.

You need to see a few doctors and decide.

Dr. O.