Anyone had Clear Lens Exchange?

Hive mind.....

I have worn glasses and/ or contacts since the 7th grade. My prescription is now quite complicated. High myopia (-10) along with some astigmatism and presbyopia.

My glasses, even with extra thin lenses, give me a headache after about 5 hours wear and do not give me full correction. My contacts are a bit more comfortable (as a rule -- though there are days when they are not) but they give me even less correction and I need to wear cheaters with them (even though they are progressive lenses). So I go back and forth, and nothing is perfect.

I am not a real candidate for LASIK or for PRK. But I saw an ophthalmologist the other day and he recommended clear lens exchange. This is essentially like cataract surgery (except they trade one clear but imperfect lens for another).

There's a family history of eye disease, which makes me nervous. On the other hand, my eyes do not suffer from the problems that led to that disease. I have a lot of other stuff going on, but not that.

Still -- it is scary business. (Not to mention, super expensive. But let's pretend for a minute that's not even an issue.)

Has anyone done this or do you know of anyone else who has? Would love to hear from you.

10 years ago

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, I've never heard of this ...

Eliza

No answers, Suz, but much empathy. I am very far-sighted (+10) with astigmatism, blepharitis, etc. I wear contacts as much as possible due to better correction and how magnified my eyes look in specs.

My eye dr. tells me getting cataracts will be the best thing that ever happens to my eyes, as my vision will improve significantly with the procedure, though still require some correction. I want to optimize my vision as I get older and asked about doing the surgery pro-actively, at my own expense. So far, it isn't likely anyone locally would do it, but I ask annually. I think it becomes a more viable option if glasses and contacts aren't "working".

I will follow this thread with great interest. Thanks for posting.

MsMary

A colleague of mine had this a year or so ago and is over the moon about it. She uses no corrective lenses at all any more and says her vision is perfect. I'm definitely going to consider it myself once my divorce is final and I have a little money in my pocket. I hate my multi-focal contact lenses but I refuse to wear glasses!

Suz

Oh, thank you! I was sure somebody here would have thought about it at least.

Mary, that is super reassuring. That is essentially what they told me. Of course there are no absolute guarantees, but this doc (who is one of the most respected in Canada) was pretty confident they could achieve that type of result for me. I actually started to cry at the thought. When your vision is truly correctable, you don't really mind (or I never minded) wearing corrective devices. But when it gets to the point that it is not correctable and it just gets worse all the time...it's so so tempting.

Mr. Suz is supportive if I want to do it. We will figure out the money.

Eliza, I am chuckling in sympathy. I have a girlfriend who had early cataracts and I almost think she is lucky!! Sadly, there is no sign of cataract in my eyes yet, so getting this operation for free is not an option.

In my geographical area, people get this surgery electively quite often. Even though it comes out of pocket. It may be because we have a good teaching hospital and a big enough population to support it.

One thing in favour of this procedure is that doctors have essentially been doing it for years and years (much longer than LASIK). And it is now super refined. He told me I could have both eyes done within a week and be back to work on the following Monday! With full vision.

Parsley

Suz, I've had this done. I'm busy right now so can't explain further, but it was a godsend for me. I'll be back to tell you more when I can.

Oh, Marcy - thank you so much!!

Irene

I have problematic eye sight -very near-sighted plus astigmatism- so I am not a good candidate for Lasik. I looked into getting what we call 'lente intraocular', which basically means they insert a contact lens inside your eye. The method is similar to that of cataracts surgery, so we might be talking about the same approach.

Anyways, my doctor is not in favour of eye-surgery except when really necessary (he is conservative in that sense) but still directed me to another doctor. We looked into it but I was afraid of what could happen if things didn't go well. Plus, I went to the contact-doctor and he gave me a new type of lenses to try -it had been years since I last had worn contacts- so I was back to wearing contacts and forgot about the surgery.

I'll probably have the surgery done eventually, but right now I'm not sure I want to take any risks. I'm ok with wearing contacts and have no problem with them so as long as it stays like this, I'm going to pass on eye-surgery.

I say really look into it, read forums and patient reviews, and then mae a decision. While searching for info I discovered many patients who were considered 'successful' had in fact vision problems derivated from the lenses. They saw flares at night, which made it impossible to drive, and some of them even went back to wearing glasses -this approach IS reversible.

Suz, you've got mail!
Clear lens extraction isn't an option to take lightly, and I know you're weighing options and risks vs benefits very seriously.

I had mine because of severe problems and a lack of other options. It has been great for me and now my vision is excellent.

For people who are just wanting to avoid wearing reading glasses it's probably not appropriate at all.
For you, Suz, it sounds like an option worth exploring.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

A friend of my husband's had this done in response to really poor vision and astigmatism - apparently he was not a good candidate for LASIK, and this version was theoretically removable if something didn't go well (although I'm sure one doesn't do that on a whim!). He's been really pleased with the results, although I gather that the adjustment period was rather long - several weeks before his vision really settled down completely.

carter

My stepmom had this done, and she thinks it's the best thing ever. It was maybe 10 years ago, and she's had no problems at all.

Thank you all so much. I am still in research and consideration mode, and your thoughts on this are very helpful.

Nadi

Member

Hi Suz!
I came across this topic for the same reason you started it.... Very high prescription, which contacts can't correct properly. I was wondering if you went ahead with the procedure.

3 years ago

Linda

Active Member

I had cataract surgery in the summer of 2019. I actually had cataracts but, like you, I had too many eye issues to get Lassix or PRK. Having the surgery was wonderful in that for the first time in over 50 years I don’t need to wear glasses or contacts. I had 20/500 vision and now I have 20/20 in one eye and 20/50 in the other. In a way, I wish I would have had this surgery years earlier. It’s unbelievable to me that I don’t need to wear corrective lenses. There is one thing that you need to know, and that is, if you are nearsighted, the surgery puts you into a higher risk of having a retinal detachment, especially during the first year. I don’t think this would have stopped me, but it is a consideration!

Joy

MY story is much like Linda’s. I had cataracts that became problematic for driving at night. I had worn glasses since I was about 9 years old. Now I don’t need them at all. Be sure you understand all the different types of surgery. I opted for the most expensive because my research showed that the biggest regret was not opting for a better level of surgery. Mine was done with a laser. Do not have it done the old fashioned way with a scapel also the cheapest or free. My brother had this and will have to have it redone because the scalpel slipped and cut his eye. He may not see out of the eye and be unable to drive.

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