Achieve Your Optimal Vision Today with Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) Using Leading Edge Light Adjustable Lens Technology
Unparalleled Vision Adjustment Capabilities for Clarity at All Distances
Game Changing Technology: Will Vision is pleased to be one of only a few select vision correction centers in the Pacific Northwest to offer Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) using the innovative Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) technology from RxSight®, a groundbreaking solution for those seeking exceptional clarity for both near and distance vision. Light adjustability takes lens replacement surgery to a level of precision and predictability that has heretofore been impossible.
Nobel Prize Winner’s Innovation: The creation of a Nobel Prize winner in polymer chemistry, the light adjustable lens is not just your father’s RLE. No indeed. The light adjustable lens from RxSight® provides control over vision outcomes in a manner that has never before been possible, making it the leading option for vision correction today. In fact, outside of Lasik, there is no bigger game-changer in the field of vision correction procedures than RLE with the light adjustable lens.
The LAL Solution for RLE: Refractive Lens Exchange in previous years could leave patients disappointed with their visual results. This was not due to problems with the procedure itself, but rather the fact that the surgeon had to perfectly predict the power of lens to implant into the eye in advance of the procedure. Occasionally, due to variations in patient anatomy and healing, such predictions were not accurate, and the patient would be left with the need for glasses.
Test Drive Your Vision Before Lock-in: With the light adjustability of the lens from RxSight® the surgeon can change the power of the implanted lens after the lens is implanted and the eye has healed. This capacity effectively neutralizes those errors induced by individual eye anatomy or eye healing.
Even more exciting, the process of light adjustment allows the surgeon to fine tune the balance between distance and near vision and allows the patient to “test-drive” their vision before the lens power adjustment is “locked-in.” So not only is the lens adjustable postoperatively, it is possible to shift the focus from distance to near and back to distance depending on the needs and desires of the patient.
Dynamic Clear Distance and Near Vision in Single Optic: When we are young, our natural lens provides us with a dynamic range of vision from near to far. With aging however, this dynamic range is decreased until most people need some help for reading, typically around 40 to 45 years of age. Attempts to solve this loss of dynamic range in the past have been fraught with issues. The most common solution has been reading glasses or monovision. Unfortunately, not all patients can tolerate monovision or they may have job related vision needs that exclude monovision as a viable option. Alternatively, RLE with either multifocal or extended depth of focus lenses have been tried. These optically complex multifocal or diffractive non-light adjustable lenses were prone to postoperative halos, glare, and poor contrast sensitivity. These were acceptable options for cataract surgery patients, but not for RLE.
The light adjustable lens from RxSight® has changed all that. The light adjustable lens delivers a dynamic range of focus using a lens that is of a monofocal design, the latter virtually eliminating the halos, glare, dysphotopsias, and the potential loss of contrast sensitivity of older multifocal implant designs. With the LAL from RxSight® the lens can be modified with their proprietary Light Delivery Device (LDD) which uses a specific wavelength of light to create extended depth of focus capabilities – the latter providing clear vision functionality ranging from distance to near.
About RLE with LAL
What is RLE with LAL?
Unparalleled Precision and Control: RLE involves exchanging your eye’s aging natural lens that is now responsible for creating problems with your distance and near vision with an adjustable clear artificial lens. In addition to focusing problems such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism, it is the aging changes in your natural lens that lead to the near universal need for reading glasses in individuals over the age of 45. Replacing the aging natural lens with a light adjustable lens provides the opportunity to turn back the clock on age related vision decline.
Light adjustability of the lens power after the new artificial lens is implanted into your eye provides your surgeon with the capacity for unparalleled precision and control over every aspect of your vision outcome.
Fine Tuning After the Implant is In the Eye: To successfully replace the natural lens, we needed a new artificial lens that was unlike any lens technology that the world had seen before. Today’s RLE provides the surgeon with the capacity to adjust the power of the lens implant after the surgery, providing unparalleled control over the visual results.
The adjustability of the LAL from RxSight® drives two incredible advantages over previous RLE. First the adjustability provides for the potential for clear 20/20 vision for all. Secondly, with appropriate changes to the lens shape once implanted in the eye, the LAL lens can frequently provide for clear near vision as well.
Potential For Clear 20/20 Vision for All: The LAL innovative lens design from RxSight® allows your surgeon to fine-tune your vision after surgery using controlled ultraviolet (UV) light to adjust the lens to your specific visual needs. Clear 20/20 or better distance vision is now potentially achievable for all.
Ditch the Readers: More than this, with specific changes to the optical properties of the light adjustable technology packaged in the new LAL+ lens design, most patients can achieve excellent distance and near vision acuity, reducing or negating the need for reading glasses. The quality of this vision and its depth of focus are unlike anything we have seen before because it is obtained without the need for diffractive optics or complex power gradients incorporated in the lens shape. These diffractive optics and power gradients seen in older lens designs were the source of post-RLE glare, halos, and dysphotopsias. With the LAL+ from RxSight®, patients gain continuous focus from distance, intermediate, and near without the decrease in quality of vision characteristic of older lens options.
LAL Plus Unique – It’s Not Monovision: The beauty of the LAL+ lens is that capitalizes on the power of our brain’s ability to deliver excellent vision created by what is called “cortical summation.” This property of the visual system provides binocular distance and near vision with the LAL+. This means that, unlike monovision where one eye is set for distance and the other for near, with RLE with the LAL+ lens from RxSight®, both eyes are set for distance, and both also contribute to clear vision at near. Cortical summation, or the art of relying on both eyes working in concert with each other to create clear vision, eliminates the challenge with adapting to monovision.
Although monovision is also a great solution for many people, it is also true that some people are physically unable to manage monovision, or the visual demands of their occupation may not allow for monovision. Now those people with a pilot’s license or a commercial driver’s license (CDL) can have refractive surgery and gain both distance and near vision without a reliance on monovision when they choose RLE with the LAL+ lens design.
Benefits of RLE with LAL
- Customizable vision correction allowing adjustments to your vision after the surgery in order to attain optimal results
- The ability to “test drive” your vision. After surgery the light adjustable lens can be modified several times allowing you as a patient to choose the vision result that best fits your lifestyle and needs
- Excellent control over near, intermediate, and distance vision
- Reduction or elimination of dependence on glasses or contact lenses
- Very high satisfaction rates due to tailored visual outcomes
- Eliminates the potential for a future cataract growing in the eye
The Procedure
How It's Done
What’s Involved: The RLE procedure using the LAL and LAL+ technology from RxSight® is similar to standard lens exchange surgery and is performed on an outpatient basis. The lens exchange surgery takes only a few minutes and is performed using eye drop anesthesia, combined with a mild oral sedative. During the procedure, your natural lens is removed using an ultrasonic probe and the light adjustable lens is folded and inserted through a tiny incision in the cornea. The LAL implant is positioned in the eye in the same location where the natural lens was located.
Once the surgery is completed, you will return home for a short nap. Later that day they may resume most all normal daily activities including exercise routines, shopping, watching television, or eating out.
Within a few weeks of replacing the natural lens with the LAL, adjustments to the power of the lens are made using a specialized, proprietary Light Delivery Device (LDD), the latter accomplished over several post-operative sessions. These are performed by your doctor who first measures your eyes to determine the optimal balance between distance and near vision for you. The LDD is then programmed by the surgeon to deliver the UV light pattern that will modify your implanted LAL lens.
Using UV light from the LDD, the LAL or LAL+ lens is shaped within your eye to produce the desired level of vision. You are then able to “test-drive” these settings to evaluate how your new lens powers work in your own personal environment. These LDD sessions can be repeated until the optimal level of vision is created. Once you are happy, then the LDD is used to “lock-in” your vision settings.
Preparing for Surgery
Understanding Expectations: Prior to surgery, it is imperative that your surgeon discuss your vision needs and expectations in the context of your lifestyle, occupation, hobbies, and interests. Based on that information, combined with the details of your eye examination, your surgeon can set appropriate vision goals regarding your RLE with LAL procedure.
Accurate Measurements Are Essential For Success: Before your procedure, a comprehensive eye examination is performed to determine the best specifications for your RLE with LAL. This planning is crucial for tailoring the lens to your unique vision requirements.
In addition to typical vision testing, slit lamp examination and dilation, additional testing will include anterior segment tomography, wavefront aberrometry, axial length measurement, combined with optical coherence tomography of the anterior segment and retina.
Aftercare and Adjustment Process
Fine Tuning the Vision: Following surgery, your vision will be clear with a few imperfections in focusing. These imperfections will be corrected as your eye heals. Typically you will return for a few weeks later to begin testing your vision and planning the adjustment endpoints with your surgeon based on your preoperative goals. Once these vision goals are identified, a few brief sessions under the Light Delivery Device (LDD) and its gentle UV light will adjust your LAL to fine-tune your vision. Most patients achieve their ideal visual acuity within a month after surgery.
Frequently Asked Questions
A few weeks after your RLE procedure, your doctor will examine your eyes and begin demonstrating various options for adjustment of the LAL or LAL+ to optimize your distance and near vision. Once this planning phase is completed, the adjustment process involves the dilation of your pupil and exposing the LAL to a pattern of UV light that is unique to your eye using the LDD. The programmed light delivery system of the LDD will modify the lens polymers based on your specific needs. As the polymers are rearranged in the lens, the new lens power will conform to the vision plan already determined. This process is non-invasive, painless, and can be repeated until your optimal vision is achieved.
Once an adjustment is completed, you will be able to “test-drive” the new adjustment to determine how well it suits your specific lifestyle, visual needs, and visual environment. Once you are happy with the vision adjustments, the LDD is used to “lock-in” the final prescription to keep the vision selected.
RLE with LAL or LAL+ is ideal for individuals over the age of 45 who wish for a high degree of precision in their vision correction, especially those with presbyopia or significant refractive errors.
In addition, those patients over 45 years of age who have had previous LASIK, PRK, or RK and have experienced a change in their vision over the years are also excellent candidates for RLE with LAL.
Testimonials
TBD – Discover the transformative experiences of our patients who have embraced the clarity and freedom provided by their Light Adjustable Lenses.
Contact Us
Make the Call Today: If you are ready to learn more about how RLE with LAL can customize your vision to fit your lifestyle, contact us today. Our knowledgeable patient counselor team is ready to answer your questions and schedule that first step – a complimentary personal consultation to find out if RLE with LAL is right for you. This consultation will determine your suitability for this procedure and give you the information to launch your personal path to freedom from glasses, contact lenses, readers, and cataracts.
Contact us today to learn more about RLE with LAL. Our friendly professional staff will schedule your personalized consultation so you can see how this revolutionary vision correction procedure can transform your life for the better.