Vision Correction- Visian™ and Verisyse™ P-IOLs
Austin, Texas

If you have moderate or severe nearsightedness and would rather not have LASIK surgery to correct it, an excellent alternative is to have a phakic intraocular lens (P-IOL). This is a type of intraocular lens (IOL) that does not require removal of your eye’s natural lens. Instead, it is placed in front of the natural lens to correct the over-strong refractive power and give you clear distance vision.

Having a P-IOL for vision correction is like wearing contact lenses which never need removing or cleaning and can never be lost.

The procedure for inserting a P-IOL is a very delicate and precise one, demanding a high level of skill from your eye surgeon. Dr. Howerton and Dr. Berkowitz have excellent experience with this surgery, as well as extensive experience with every type of LASIK /PRK surgery. That gives them the knowledge and hands-on skill to keep you safe and give you a dramatic vision improvement.

Before Your P-IOL Surgery

To be a good candidate for a P-IOL, your eyes need to have large enough anterior chambers. The anterior chamber is in front of the lens and is filled with fluid. Your eye surgeon will measure its depth to make sure it is deep enough to contain the lens.

Whether you choose the Visian or the Verisyse P-IOL, there will be a short procedure done one or two weeks before your surgery. It is called an Iridotomy and uses a YAG laser. Near the edge of each iris, your eye surgeon will make one or two tiny openings to allow eye fluid to circulate around the lens, behind the iris.

Eye tissue needs to be moist, and our eyes are filled with several kinds of fluid to accomplish this with drainage systems to regulate it. This short procedure is done after eyedrops are used to make your eyes numb. Between this day and the day of your P-IOL surgery, you will have some prescription eyedrops to use.

The Visian ICL™

The STAAR® Surgical Visian ICL – standing for Implantable Collamer® Lens – is one of the P-IOLs we offer. The Collamer of which it is made is a proprietary substance composed partly of collagen.
Collagen is a natural substance found all over the human body, which makes the Visian ICL biocompatible and the body will not reject it.
Collamer has an anti-reflective coating to minimize glare and halos, two problems associated with night vision.

The Visian ICL procedure is somewhat like cataract surgery, except that your natural lens is left in place. One eye is treated at a time, and the surgery takes only 15 to 30 minutes.
Anesthetic eyedrops are given and you will feel virtually no pain
Your eye surgeon will make a very small incision in the cornea, outside your field of vision
The Visian ICL is inserted between the iris in front and the lens behind it
It is centered behind the pupil and kept in place by the eye’s inside walls
Sutures close the incision
A shield is placed over your eye for protection over the next few days

The Verisyse™ P-IOL Procedure

The FDA approved the Verisyse lens in 2004 for treating severe myopia (up to -20 diopters). It is made of the same inert plastic that has been used for other IOLs for about fifty years; it has an excellent safety record.

The Verisyse procedure takes 15 to 30 minutes, with one eye being done at a time. You will have numbing eyedrops to keep you comfortable.

Your eye surgeon will make a tiny incision in the cornea.
The Verisyse lens is positioned behind the cornea and in front of the iris. This differs from the Visian ICL procedure, where the lens is placed behind the iris.
The Verisyse lens is centered in front of the pupil and attached to the iris to keep it in place
Dissolving stitches close the incision.
A temporary shield is used to protect your eye for a few days.

Because the Verisyse P-IOL is placed in front of the iris, it is near the back surface of the cornea. Your eye surgeon will monitor you to make sure the presence of the P-IOL does not disrupt the cells on the back corneal surface. There is fluid (called aqueous humor) throughout this small area and this is the area that your eye surgeon measures as part of determining your candidacy for a Verisyse P-IOL (see above under Before Your P-IOL Surgery). It must be deep enough to hold the P-IOL comfortably.

This consideration does not apply to the Visian ICL because it is placed behind the iris.

To schedule a complimentary consultation and learn more about eye surgery including the ReZoom IOL, please call or email the Howerton Eye Clinic in Austin, Texas.