Laser Eye Surgery - Phakic Intraocular Lenses (P-IOLs)
Austin, Texas

An Intraocular Lens (IOL) is an artificial lens which is implanted in the eye to improve vision. A Phakic Intraocular Lens (P-IOL) does not require the natural lens to be removed, whereas a regular IOL does, as it replaces the natural lens. P-IOLs are an alternative to laser vision correction (any type of LASIK/PRK) and are used for people with moderate to severe myopia (nearsightedness).

What Can a P-IOL Correct?

In December, 2005 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved P-IOLs for fully correcting as much as 15.00 diopters of myopia. If you have more myopia than that, you can still have a P-IOL except that it may not be able to fully correct your nearsightedness.

They are not used for hyperopia (farsightedness)
They are not used to correct astigmatism, although the P-IOL surgery may partially correct astigmatism
They are best suited to people younger than 45 years of age
They have to be removed if any cataracts develop. Treatment for cataracts involves the removal of the natural lens and its replacement with a regular IOL. Removal of the natural lens requires removal of any P-IOL.

Two Types of P-IOL

The sequence of principal eye structures (not counting the spaces filled with fluid) starting from the front is:

Cornea (clear layer covering front of eye)
Iris (colored part around the pupil)
Lens (transparent rounded structure suspended by fibers and controlled in its curvature by tiny muscles)
Retina (light-sensitive membrane around the inside back surface of the eye)

All P-IOLs are positioned behind the cornea and in front of the lens. They are a third lens, in effect, to complement the light refraction achieved by the cornea and lens, and to enhance it for clearer distance vision.

One type of P-IOL is placed in front of the iris and the other type is placed behind it. Please see our page on Visian ICL™ and Verisyse for more details.

P-IOL Advantages over LASIK

A severely myopic eye has a very steeply curved cornea, the clear front part of the eye. That makes the person a poor candidate for laser vision correction (any form of LASIK/PRK). That is because a laser procedure must remove more corneal tissue to correct severe myopia, which could leave too little corneal tissue left. When the cornea is too thin it can start to bulge forward and distort vision.
But a P-IOL does not remove any corneal tissue at all. It corrects the lens’ overly strong refractive power so as to allow for clear distance vision.
A P-IOL can be removed, whereas any laser vision correction is permanent. The removal procedure is a reverse of the implantation procedure.

Each individual has two eyes that are not only unlike everyone else’s eyes but also unlike each other, microscopically. That means that each person’s vision correction is done in a customized way, planned to improve the particular refractive errors of each eye and to prevent any unwanted consequences. Each possible procedure has its advantages and disadvantages for any given person.

To learn more about the best way to improve your clarity of vision, please call or email our office. We will be glad to schedule a laser eye surgery complimentary consultation for you where you can get all your questions clearly answered.