Implantable Contact Lenses

Visian ICL and Verisyse Lens Implants

The Visian Implantable Collamer Lens and the Verisyse-Artisan are both phakic intraocular lenses (P-IOL). A P-IOL is a "helper" artificial lens implanted inside the eye to reduce refractive error. P-IOLs are an alternative to conventional or wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, PRK, LASEK, and Epi-Lasik for patients with very high myopic (nearsighted-shortsighted) vision.

P-IOLs are approved by the FDA to fully correct up to 15.00 diopters (D) of myopia. People with more than 15.00 D of myopia may use a P-IOL to reduce their refractive error, but will not achieve full correction.

P-IOLs can be used for lower amounts of myopia correction, but are commonly not as appropriate as other refractive surgery techniques. P-IOLs are not currently approved for hyperopic (farsighted - longsighted) correction and the nature of a P-IOL tends to make them less ideal for hyperopic correction.
P-IOLs approved in the United States do not directly correct astigmatism, however the process of surgery may reduce astigmatism. If the patient has moderate to high astigmatism, a second procedure, such as conventional or wavefront-guided Lasik, PRK, LASEK, or Epi-Lasik may be recommended for the correction of astigmatism.

Generally P-IOLs are most suited for individuals well under the age of 45 with very high refractive error, i.e.: over 10.00 D myopia and either no astigmatism or very little astigmatism. Exceptions to this general rule are common. P-IOLs tend to be better for people with high myopia than Lasik and similar laser eye surgery because the laser assisted techniques require greater amounts of corneal tissue to be removed to correct high refractive error may make the cornea too thin and unstable. P-IOLs do not thin the cornea.

Younger Patients Are Generally Best

P-IOLs are generally not ideal for persons over age 45 or anyone who is presbyopic. Presbyopia is when the natural crystalline lens of the eye is no longer fully able to change focus from items distant to items near (accommodation). This is when reading glasses or bifocals become necessary. If the patient is young, not presbyopic, and has a high refractive error, then a major advantage of P-IOL lens-based refractive surgery is that the natural crystalline lens remains untouched. This means that the high myopia can be corrected without limiting the ability to accommodate.