Vision Correction Options in Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky

There are multiple options for vision correction.  Naturally Glasses and Contact lenses are popular options but when you are looking for permanent surgical options, LASIK, PRK, ASA, ICL or Clear Lens Exchange are viable options.  Only a discussion with our well trained staff can help you determine what is in your budget and fits your short and long term needs.

And we re going to talk to you a bit today about the different kinds of procedures

we offer here at the Ohio Valley Eye Institute.  And we actually offer the full range of procedures here because we believe its really important

that as an individual you need to have individualized treatments

And so those treatments include LASIK ASA PRK implantable contact lenses and lens exchange surgery

So we re going to talk a bit about that

let s talk about this and can you tell me maybe

a bit more about what the differences are

between the procedures

Yeah so for those three procedures basically

we are trying to change the shape of that window

at the front of the eye

So LASIK surgery involves the creation of a flap

and then a second laser is used to actually

change the shape of that window

Surface laser or PRK actually applies the laser

right to the front of the eye

In some ways that s the easiest procedure

but the reason that it s not our preferred technique

is because often the recovery is quite slow

and patients need to take a bit more time out of work

whereas with LASIK and the other alternative SMILE surgery

which is a newer surgical procedure

the recovery is faster

Let s say you have a 26 year old come in

a young patient who is moderately myopic

What sort of procedures would you consider?

for that sort of patient

Yeah there s a range of procedures Colin

that we could offer this patient

and it will often depend on what the examination shows

So the examination which should always be done

by the ophthalmologist

will actually determine which of a few procedures

we could use

So for example if that patient had moderate myopia

moderate short sightedness

and they had a cornea that is the window of the eye

which was nice and thick

we could offer them either PRK or LASIK surgery

If however their cornea was a bit thin

or there was something a little bit

not quite right with the cornea

we have the option of PRK which is also known as ASLA

So I think that they are the most common procedures

that we would offer for a patient

with that particular problem

If you had instead a patient who was -11

much more short sighted let s say minus or beyond

similar age maybe about

what sort of procedure could they potentially have

the number is

I think confusing to people

Minus 11 is a really near sighted person

Most people are much less than that

but they have a particular problem

because those big errors minus

it s hard to wear glasses

It sounds funny but it s hard

because the minification effect

they get an edge effect around the lenses

And so they re really often dependent on contact lenses

and sometimes they can t wear those full time

So they re coming from a different place

to the less short-sighted person

with slightly different expectations

For that person you ve got to understand

and the patients need to understand

that cornea laser is great

but it has its limitations and you get up to

I ll put a number on it around minus eight minus nine

and it s hard to do a cornea laser procedure of any type

and be assured of the accuracy and safety

So it s that minus person

you should have a conversation about whether

they should have what s called an implantable contact lens

An implantable contact lens is what it sounds like

you put a lens inside the eye

you choose the power that can correct short sightedness

it can correct astigmatism or the combination

very good optically it s a procedure inside the eyes

So the need to understand the level of risk

is slightly different to lasering the cornea

And they also need to understand that there is now

a lens inside their eye which needs to be looked at

once a year for the rest of their lives

but it s a very good procedure an implantable contact lens

in the right circumstances

They re not commonly performed

but for the right patient

that can be game changing for their life

Yeah I completely understand what he s saying

These sorts of patients with really high prescriptions

they literally drop their glasses and they can t find them

They can t find their way home

So it s a completely different place

that they re coming from

Yeah and they feel vulnerable

They can be in a hotel room or somewhere

They ve lost their glasses

They feel very vulnerable and it s not a nice place to be

It s often why they want something done

And the thing is that well the other flip side coin is

we all get older

And then let s say let s flip the other scenario

and let s say we have 50 plus year old patient

who s now starting to wear reading glasses

and maybe moving onto multifocals

What sort of procedures can you do for them Gerard

Well I think that the first thing to say

is that all the standard laser procedures are still

applicable for those of us that are over Colin

We can still have those procedures

but I think that what happens is you get an extra option

which is really significant extra weapon

in our armamentarium

And that is that we get to do a lens exchange

And what that means is that we re actually taking the lens

out from the eye and replacing it with one

which is more optically appropriate

So people who ve worn glasses all their life

for long sightedness and then they start to get

a need for glasses again for near

and actually end up in as you say multifocal glasses

Those patients have the option of having a lens exchange

and there are various strategies that you can use

to actually significantly reduce or eliminate

in many cases their need for glasses

And we won t go into all of them

But one good option that s available

and which is getting better and better as the years go by

is the option of a multifocal lens

And really with appropriately selected patients

I think that multifocal lenses with a lens exchange

is a very very successful procedure

Well that s a good segue cause I might ask Michael

about the different kinds and different types of lenses

because patients nowadays will probably

or they come to me and ask me questions

about what kind of lens is best for me

So maybe you could highlight that

It s a good question Colin and Gerard s alluded to it

because it s a difficult area

There are so many lens designs now

it s actually difficult for I think

ophthalmologists and optometrists let alone patients

to come to grips with what is the right lens

Simply put it s this

the lenses with the best clearest vision

the clearest optics have the least range

So if you did that in a year old made them normal

they have great distance vision

they ll definitely wear glasses for reading and computer

If you put a trifocal lens in that patient

you can be pretty sure you ll get them out of glasses

but at a slight cost in quality and not much but some

And so that is a discussion you have to have with a patient

To make it more confusing

now there s a whole bunch of lenses in between

They re called EDOF lenses they called various things

But they re trying to do a little bit of either

and a bit of both

And they have their place in certain patients

and those lenses are evolving

they re not a static technology

And so it requires a knowledge of all the lenses

it requires an understanding of that patient s anatomy

what their eyes the health of their eyes is like

and really an understanding and a conversation about

what matters most to them

And then as an ophthalmologist

you can make a recommendation

And that s probably the point of what was said today

It is about having access to all these technologies

that allows us to practice and do medicine

and perform surgeries the way we think is best

for the patient ultimately