Eye Surgery: Implantable Contact Lens

[PKPunk]

My dad (67 years old) has very bad eyes and he is legally bind without extreme correction. He's had quite a few surgeries including cataracts surgery and a cornea transplant. His vision is still bad and his doctors are giving him 2 options to help with the problem. The first is to replace the lens in his eye with a prescription lens (like in cataracts surgery) or place in a implantable contact lens on top of the lens he currently has in his eye. He's seen 2 very reputable doctors about this and each doctor recommended opposite treatments.

Our first doctor recommended the implantable contact because the procedure is low risk and removable so if it doesn't work they can pop it out and replace the lens in eye. However the implantable lens surgery has not been done for very long so there isn't long term data on the surgery. Our second opinion doctor wants to just replace the lens in the eye since that has the highest probability of working the first time and will minimize the need for future surgeries which is a concern because risks his transplant cornea.

I was wondering if anyone here has the implantable lens surgery done? Were there any complications and what was the recovery like? any complications?

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/09/64803
phakic IOL

Cliffs
Dad = Bad eyes needs eye surgery to see better
not a candidate for laser eye surgery
option 1 replace the lens in his eye with a new one
option 2 have an implantable contact lens placed in his eye
seen 2 doctors, doc 1 suggest option 1, doc 2 suggests option 2

 

[blakeatwork]

I'd guess because he's an older fellow, he'd want the method that guarantees the fewest complications...

 

[ed21x]

multi-focal lens implant is the best option at the moment, but it will cost extra compared to standard lens implants but at least you won't need corrective lenses afterwards (current lens implants allow you to only focus on things far away and you still need glasses for close-up reading).

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: ed21x
multi-focal lens implant is the best option at the moment, but it will cost extra compared to standard lens implants but at least you won't need corrective lenses afterwards (current lens implants allow you to only focus on things far away and you still need glasses for close-up reading).

I forgot mention in my original post that his eye is at a -9 or -10. The doctor recommending the implantable contact wants to put in correction for a -8 so after the surgery he'll still need to wear glasses for everyday sight. Also the doctor wanting to replace the lens in his eye is also expecting him to need to wear glasses after the procedure

 

[wwswimming]

i'm quite familiar with the surgeons who do the surgery.

you can count on the best of them to falsify clinical trial results, and to lie
quite skillfully.

the IOL itself may be quite safe.

 

[The_Dude8]

Originally posted by: wwswimming
i'm quite familiar with the surgeons who do the surgery.

you can count on the best of them to falsify clinical trial results, and to lie
quite skillfully.

the IOL itself may be quite safe.

What is your opinion on lasik? Will you do lasik if your eyes sight are bad?

 

[StrangeRanger]

My eyes are worse than your dad's due to a motorcycle accident. I've been doing a lot of reading on IOL's because Lasik and PRK are not even an option for me. One of the world recognized leaders in IOL tech is actually located here in VT in a little podunk town in middle-southern VT. You may want to review their site and even consult w/ them too just for another opinion: http://www.singereye.com/pages/index.php

j