OPTIONS FOR 40 AND OLDER

WHAT IS PRESBYOPIA?

During childhood and young adulthood, people with normal vision have the ability to focus on near objects as well as on objects that are far away. They can switch focus from near to far vision allowing a continuous range of vision. This is called accommodation. With increasing age, that ability to focus and to switch focus decreases. By the time most people reach their forties, they need an aid, such as reading glasses or bifocals, to focus on close up objects . This condition is called presbyopia.  Treatment options for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism therefore change based on the age of the patient and the visual requirements of the patient.

IF YOU ARE NEARSIGHTED (MYOPIA) AND HAVE PRESBYOPIA

• –  You have good near vision without glasses or contact lenses.
• –  You have poor near vision with distance correction glasses or contact lenses and you need either reading or bifocal glasses.
• –  You have poor distance vision without glasses and/or contact lenses.
• –  As you age, the lens inside your eye will lose its ability to focus as well at near – this usually becomes evident around the age of 40. This is when many people begin using reading glasses or bifocals.
• –  Refractive eye surgery will not prevent this age-related event, known as presbyopia, from occurring.
• –  Refractive eye surgery will correct the focus of your eye, which should enable you to see well at distance following your surgery but will not help you with near tasks . You will eventually need reading glasses to see well at near.

POTENTIAL VISION OPTIONS

There are several options available to help reduce or eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses. Your complimentry  LASIK examination will allow Dr. Abbas to evaluate your needs and chose the best procedure for your unique visual needs:

–  Full distance vision correction for both eyes This would provide you with great distance vision, but you would still require reading glasses for near and midrange or intermediate(computer) vision. This is a good option for patients who have an active outdoor lifestyle and don’t mind wearing reading glasses.

–  Monovision With this option, the dominant eye is corrected for full distance vision, while the non-dominant eye is corrected to see well at near. with both eyes open, patients can see well at near as well as in the distance. The use of reading glasses may still be needed on occasion (mostly for detailed near work), but patients are not typically dependent on them.

POTENTIAL SURGICAL OPTIONS

i-LASIK

• –  This procedure uses the Customvue Wavescan  to capture your eye’s unique profile that will be fed into the computer of the Excimer Laser to plan a truly customized treatment plan for your eyes.
• –  The Intralase or the Zeimer LDV Femto second lasers are then used to create thin corneal flaps in the front part of the cornea. The flap is then lifted away from the cornea to alow the reshaping treatment to be placed on the cornea.
• –  The Excimer laser (VISX STAR S4  OR  the Allegretto Wave) permanently sculpts the patient’s visual correction into the deeper tissue of the cornea (beneath the flap). The flap is then re-positioned back in place.

PRK

• –  This procedure is similar to LASIK, except a corneal flap is not created.
• –  Instead, the corneal epithelium (outermost layer) is removed and the excimer laser treatment is then applied.
• –  The epithelium slowly grows back as the eye heals, and ultimately the visual outcomes are similar to LASIK.

VISIAN  ICL

• –  available to patients between 21 and 45 years of age with high myopia
• –  A foldable lens is inserted through surgical micro-incision and placed inside the eye just behind the iris in from of the eye’s natural lens
• –  This procedure is available to patients who have high myopia who are not suitable for LASIK correction or patients who are NOT good candidates for LASIK because of thin corneas.

VERISYS PHAKIC  IOL

• –  This is a procedure for patients who are extremely near- sighted and outside the range of LASIK.
• –  A lens is placed inside the eye, just in front of the iris (the colored part of the eye)

IF YOU ARE FARSIGHTED (HYPEROPIA) AND HAVE PRESBYOPIA

• –  You have poor near vision and distance vision without glasses and/or contact lenses, although your distance vision may be a little better than your near vision.
• –  Young people who are farsighted often have “hidden” vision problems, but they can usually accommodate (overcome the visual problems by making the eye work harder) to see better. This can cause eyestrain and headaches.
• –  Farsightedness (Hyperopia) occurs when the eyeball is too short, or the eye’s focusing mechanism (the cornea and lens) is too weak, causing light rays to focus behind the retina.
• –  As you age, the lens inside your eye will lose its ability to focus as well at near – this usually becomes evident around the age of 40. This is when many people begin using reading glasses or bifocals.
• –  Refractive eye surgery can correct the focus of your eye, which should enable you to see well at both distance and near following your surgery.

POTENTIAL VISION OPTIONS

There are several options available to help reduce or eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses. Your complimentry  LASIK examination will allow Dr. Abbas to evaluate your needs and chose the best procedure for your unique visual needs:

–  Full distance vision correction for both eyes This would provide you with great distance vision, but you would still require reading glasses for near and midrange (computer) vision. This is a good option for patients who have an active outdoor lifestyle and don’t mind wearing reading glasses.

–  Monovision With this option, the dominant eye is corrected for full distance vision, while the non-dominant eye is corrected to see well at near. The use of reading glasses may still be needed on occasion (mostly for detailed near work), but patients are not typically dependent on them.

–  PRELEX- Multifocal Lens Correction (Presbyopic Lens Exchange)-  This is a great option for many presbyopic patients, and is usually best suited for patients age 45 or older. New technology lens implants can provide a wide range of vision, including distance, intermediate, and near. Patients who consider this option must have good eye health, and must have the right attitude in order to achieve good results. More information on this option is given below.

POTENTIAL SURGICAL OPTIONS

i-LASIK    as described above.

PRK          as described above.

PRELEX This procedure involves removal of the natural crystalline lens of the eye using cataract surgical techniques and replacing it with a multifocal intraocular lens which allows patients to be able to see far, intermediate and at near without the help of glasses. PRELEX is usually best suited for patients age 45 or older, although younger patients may be considered in certain circumstances. There are different premium lens options available for implantation, and our staff can help advise which choice is best for you. We currently offer the following premium lenses as part of our refractive package service:

RESTOR  This lens implant uses revolutionary apodized diffractive technology – a series of concentric circular rings which focuses images on the retina and enables a full range of vision. Patients with ReSTOR® lenses usually report great distance vision and great near vision, with adequate intermediate (computer) vision. The vast majority of patients with ReSTOR® lenses will no longer need glasses, but some patients may still need glasses on occasion for certain tasks.

TECNIS MULTIFOCAL This lens has the ability to consistently offer patients improved vision at a range of distances, from near to middle to far. The Tecnis® Lens is the only wavefront-designed lens with FDA-approved claims for improved functional vision and improved night-driving simulator performance. The vast majority of patients with Tecnis® lenses will no longer need glasses, but some patients may still need glasses on occasion for certain tasks.

SINGLE VISION IOL  This lens implant provides one focal point (distance OR near), and is the same type of lens used for standard cataract surgeries. This would be an option for a patient who may not be tolerant of haloes (as are sometimes reported with multifocal lens implants) or one who has a job that does not tolerate halos (eg: airline pilots, night time truck drivers, etc), and who is not a good candidate for iLASIK or PRK. Vision may be set for monovision (one eye set for distance vision and the other eye set for near vision) or for distance vision with both eyes (which would still require the use of reading glasses for intermediate and near work).

IF YOU HAVE A CATARACT

• –  This is a clouding of the lens inside the eye, most often due to increasing age.
• –  Vision typically appears cloudy or foggy, often with increased glare and light sensitivity.
• –  Cataract surgery: This procedure surgically removes the clouded natural lens of your eye and replaces it with a clear artificial lens implant. Click on the link to learn more about cataract surgery.

POTENTIAL SURGICAL OPTIONS

When cataracts are present, cataract surgery is usually the best option for correcting your vision. There are several options available to help reduce or eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses after your cataract surgery. Your detailed examination will allow us to determine which lens option will be best suited to your particular visual needs. Some of the options that might be available to you are:

Cataract surgery with Single Vision intraocular lenses:  This is the traditional option utilized for cataract surgery, and is usually covered by medical insurance. A standard, single vision intraocular lens implant provides one focal point (distance OR near). Vision may be set to a desired outcome based on your lifestyle and visual demands, so you may consider:

–  Full distance vision correction for both eyes

•  –  Good distance vision
•  –  Still need glasses for intermediate (computer) and near vision
• –  Good for people who do not mind wearing eyeglasses

–  Monovision

• –  Dominanat eye fixed for good distance vision
• –  Non-dominant eye fixed for near vision
• –  With both eyes open the brain uses both eyes simultaneously to be clear both at near and at distance
• –  Glasses might still be needed for detailed and fine near work
• –  Not all patients will qualify for monovision and usually a brief contact lens trial to simulate monovision is useful in determining candidacy for this option.

Cataract surgery with multifocal intraocular lenses: New technology now provides premium multifocal lens implants, which enables a wide range of vision – including distance, intermediate, and near.There are different premium lens options available for implantation. We currently offer the following premium lenses as part of our refractive package service:

RESTOR  This lens implant uses revolutionary apodized diffractive technology – a series of concentric circular rings which focuses images on the retina and enables a full range of vision. Patients with ReSTOR® lenses usually report great distance vision and great near vision, with adequate intermediate or midrange (computer) vision. The vast majority of patients with ReSTOR® lenses will no longer need glasses, but some patients may still need glasses on occasion for certain tasks.

TECNIS MULTIFOCAL This lens has the ability to consistently offer patients improved vision at a range of distances, from near to middle to far. The vast majority of patients with Tecnis® lenses will no longer need glasses, but some patients may still need glasses on occasion for certain tasks.

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If you would like to find out more about this exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity of turning back the clock on your vision, please contact us to see how we can restore your near vision to what it used to be when you were younger. Call us at     281-420-EYES(3937)    or    Schedule Online