Anyone ever heard of a lens implant at the back of the eye?

Question

What does it do to improve vision? Is it effective?

Answer 1

Do you mean an implant for cataract surgery? Or had you heard about retinal implants? You have had some good answers about cataract implants.

Retinal implants are an experimental treatment for blindness. Light sensitive electrodes are implanted in the retina and provide stimulation to the optic nerve. This is in very early stages of research and so far has been only effective in creating impressions of light or dark, not detail.

Answer 2

You've got some nice answers.

Just to 'clarify'.

The eye has a lens system. The lens system includes the cornea, the clear part in the front through which you can see the blue or brown or colored part with the little hole in it (pupil). Behind the pupil sits the lens.

When lenses were first put IN the eye, anterior chamber lenses were used. One of the main one's was the CHOICE lens by a Dr. of that name. It was a flat plastic sheet about 4 mm wide with a central area that was lens like.

The regular or crystalline lens would be removed intact, the whole thing. One would make an incision around the clear part, fold it back, dry the fluid from the anterior chamber which is just behind the clear part. Then grasp the lens by using a suction devise or a freezing device sort of like your tongue getting stuck to the frozen pole in the winter) behind the colored iris which was already widely dilated, and the whole lens would be removed. That was called, is called INTRAcapsular lens extraction or ICCE.

Then people started removing just the inside of the lens, leaving the capsule. This was called an EXTRAcapsular lens extraction or ECCE circular opening would be made, is made in the front membrane or capsule of the lens, then the inner lens material would be removed. The nucleus would be tumbled out, then the surrounding softer cortex would be suctioned out. Now-a-days they use ultrasound, called phacoemulsification. The little tip vibrates about 40,000/sec and makes the hard lens material in the center into dust which is washed out.

Then a lens implant made up of one of the newer silicones or plastics like described before, is placed inside the bag, inside the capsule.

This is the 'normal' way it's done these days.

For people who are young, like 20ish or so, and nearsighted, the laser corneal surgeries or the corneal implant (where an implant is placed into the clear part in the front of the eye changing the shape and is really a nice, nice way to go) is recommended. For people a bit older, one can do a cataract surgery (whether or not one has a cataract (a cataract is just a lens that's foggy or not clear...it's the same surgery) to refocus the eye.

So if one were really near sighted, say a -9.00, they could have their lens inside their eye removed and a lens placed which would be 'weaker', thus allowing them to become 'normal sighted'.

For a farsighted person, the lens used would be a little more powerful than 'normal' making up the difference for the 'weaker' eye.

The cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed in the USA. (WITH these implants). It's pretty rare these days in the USA to have cataract surgery without an implant.

Answer 3

That basically is what cataract surgery involves...the removal of the occluded lens which no longer has enuf clarity to transmit light to the retina [which is the 'film' behind our lenses] and its replacement with a man-made lens. Usually done as an out-patient procedure [no hospitalisation generally] and considered a routine, safe and ordinary process. Most folks with cataract have an increasing dimness of vision in the affected eye, and when the defective lens is removed & replaced, most experience full vision again in that eye. Interestingly enough, the first man-made material was similar to perspex--which, in WW-II, was originally used as airplane windscreens. Military medicals found that after an air crash that involved bits of perspex lodging in the eye region, there was no rejection of this material...thus, they figured, it would be safe to use as human lens replacement. Turned out they were right! Replacement lenses today can be "tuned" [i.e., shaped] in such a way that myopeia and presbyopeia [near or far sightedness] can be somewhat corrected by the concave or convex curves built into the new lens. I know one person who had their two replacement lenses designed in such a way that their vision was balanced back to near-normal...after a lifetime of humongously thick corrective lenses for myopeia! s'truth!

Answer 4

I just had my lens replaced in my right eye. I went to the dr. for lasik surgery but since I am close to cataract age, I decided to have the lens implant instead. Everything is bright and clear now. I can see to drive but need reading glasses.

I could have gotten the lenses that allow near and far vision but they cost about $5000 per eye.

Answer 5

The only FDA approved procedure is for lens replacement for the treatment of cataracts. Insertion of an artificial lens into the posterior segment of the eye is not approved and would not improve vision.

Answer 6

at the BACK of the eye????