Cataract surgery is a common medical procedure that keeps improving all the time. Surgeons can perform it quickly and effectively, and it can now improve your eyesight to a greater level than ever before.
Thanks to advances in intraocular lenses (IOLS), cataract surgery can give you the best eyesight of your life! One lens revolutionizing IOL technology is the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) from RxSight.
Not only does it improve your vision during cataract surgery, but it is customizable after surgery as well! Keep reading to see how the Light Adjustable Lens can give you the best eyesight of your life!
How Does Cataract Surgery Work?
Cataract surgery is a relatively quick procedure that removes your natural lens and replaces it with an IOL. The IOL gives you your eyesight back after cataracts have begun to take it away.
Cataracts are collections of proteins in your natural lens that clump together as they break down. This clumping creates white cloudiness in your eye that makes it harder to see over time.
Cataract surgery removes the cloudy lens, and your chosen IOL replaces it. You get local anesthesia for cataract surgery, so you don’t feel any pain. And, you can go home within a couple of hours of the procedure.
During the procedure, your surgeon needs to access your lens, which is behind your cornea. To do so, they first make an incision in your cornea, which allows them to reach your lens.
Next, they use a small probe to break your lens into small pieces so they can remove it. The broken lens gets taken out with gentle suction.
Once your natural lens is out, they replace it with the LAL, which expands into position. After the LAL is in a secure spot, they close the incision in your cornea, which heals without stitches.
Then, you wait for a couple of hours to ensure everything goes well and you can go home. At this point, most people’s cataract surgery is over.
But this is where it gets exciting with the LAL. After your cataract surgery, the LAL gets customized, so the vision you get from it is unique to you and your preferences.
What Makes the LAL Special
One of the best parts of cataract surgery is the potential to reduce or eliminate your need for glasses. However, it is not a guarantee that premium IOLs will be able to meet your vision goals after cataract surgery with other IOLs.
This is because the lens gets crafted before your procedure. With other IOLs, there is no way to account for exactly how you will heal after cataract surgery.
The Light Adjustable Lens solves this problem with outstanding technology. After your cataract surgery, when the Light Adjustable Lens is in your eye, it is still adjustable.
This customization is possible because of the material that makes the LAL. It is a photosensitive polymer that changes shape and refraction in response to UV light.
After your cataract surgery, you have two to four UV light treatments for a couple of weeks. During these light treatments, your eye doctor uses a machine to apply UV light to the lens to change its shape.
Changing the shape of the lens changes how it refracts light onto your retina, which changes how you see. You can try different settings in the lens and tell your eye doctor which you prefer.
At the end of the light adjusting period, they set the lens to no longer react to UV light. Then you can live the rest of your life with custom vision!
The LAL gives you control of your eyesight after cataract surgery. Schedule a cataract screening with Frantz Eyecare in Ft. Myers, FL, see if the Light Adjustable Lens is suitable for you!
