Over 50’s see complete vision correction at last

During the past 20 years, laser eye surgery has become a common, safe and routine procedure for the correction of refractive errors. The freedom of eliminating the need for glasses and contact lenses for day to day living has become a very achievable and affordable option.

However, it is a common misconception that this cannot be achieved in people above the age of 50 as the onset of presbyopia will mean that there will be a need for reading glasses.

Presbyopia is the loss of ability to focus on near objects and is caused by the natural lens within the eye losing its flexibility to adjust its power.

Advancing technology has opened up many new treatment avenues for this generation of the population. Whilst laser eye surgery may still be an option, it may not always be the best or permanent solution.

Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is a less well known procedure which carries significant added benefits in this age group. Depending on suitability, this offers a permanent correction for the need for glasses, for both distance and near vision.

Rather than reshaping the cornea with laser, RLE works by replacing the natural lens in the eye with a bespoke implant that allows variable focusing to ensure true freedom from glasses or contact lenses.

One significant advantage of this technique is that a patient who has undergone such treatment will never develop a cataract and the treatment is a permanent correction.

This genre of surgery requires extreme precision and advanced technology intra-ocular lenses to obtain the best results. With attention focused on eliminating astigmatism and a final refractive outcome close to zero, true spectacle independence is now consistently achievable.

Patient selection is the key and understanding the individual needs for the patient is inherent to success.

Mike Tappin and Rakesh Jayaswal are both trained in high end refractive surgery and have over 20 years experience between them.

At LaserVision, the surgeons will spend over an hour understanding your needs and examining your eyes in order to give you the best impartial advice to achieving complete vision correction.