Eye treatments are widely available, what makes us different?
When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Custom Vision Clinics does not offer a one-size fits all treatment. Instead, we select the most appropriate technique to the fix the patient’s visual problem.
Why do you need a surgeon to be confident in both corneal and lens based surgical techniques?
Only then can the appropriate tool be selected for that patient. Surgeons who can only offer laser eye surgery are tempted to push this technology too far – there is only so much tissue that can be removed from a cornea.
Surgeons who can only perform lens surgery (basically cataract surgery) can come unstuck if the calculations do not give an accurate result.
It is possible to get round a golf course using only a seven iron for all the shots. It’s also possible to get round a golf course using only a driver. The best results, however, will be achieved with a full set of clubs in the hands of an expert.
Laser eye surgery and beyond
Most people know that laser eye surgery can help them to get rid of their glasses. Now, however, laser eye surgery is not the only option for people who are frustrated by their glasses.
Two structures focus light onto the back of the eye and create a clear image – the cornea and the lens. The cornea is the rigid window at the very front of the eye, and it is the cornea, which is sculpted in laser eye surgery. The lens is suspended inside the eye.
How the eye changes as we age
When we are young the lens is soft and flexible. The soft lens in a normal eye allows us to “pull focus” and see near objects clearly. As we reach our mid forties the lens stiffens and we begin to lose this ability to pull focus for near. Eventually the lens turns into a cataract – something we can all look forward to if we live long enough.
What can laser eye surgery can do, and what is it not suited for?
Laser eye surgery is excellent at correcting short sightedness and long sightedness. However, it does nothing to change the natural ageing of the eye. So people still need reading glasses later in life and will still go on to develop cataract, even if they have had laser eye surgery.
What is the secret “good news” for people needing cataract surgery?
It is now possible to use the techniques of cataract surgery to help people become independent of their glasses for both distance and near vision.
Modern cataract surgery is so advanced that it is possible to remove the lens through a tiny incision and replace it with a plastic lens, which is folded through the tiny incision and unfolded inside the eye.
The latest generation of plastic intra-ocular lenses can provide clear vision for distance and for near. The results have become so good that it is no longer necessary to wait until the lens has progressed all the way to becoming a cataract.
What are the latest options for people who want to get rid of reading spectacles and varifocals?
People in their forties and fifties who need glasses for distance and reading but do not yet have a cataract can opt to have their lens removed and replaced with a plastic lens which gives them clear vision for the distance (driving and cinema) and for near (reading).
This is a great alternative to laser eye surgery for many people and unlike laser eye surgery should provide permanent independence from glasses over the years. These people can move forward, safe in the knowledge that they will never develop a cataract.
Clear lens exchange or presbyopic lens exchange are the terms used for this early “cataract surgery”.
What eye treatments does Custom Vision Clinics offer?
Our surgeon, James Ball, performs all of the following eye surgery techniques:
- LASIK
- Surface laser treatment (LASEK / PRK / Epi-LASEK)
- Presbyopia lens exchange (PRELEX)
- Cataract surgery
Other treatments:
To schedule a consultation
Please call 0845 6430 466 or fill in the web form to your right and we’ll get in contact with you.
