How does Visian compare with LASIK?

During clinical trials, researchers compared the outcomes of Visian patients to those of LASIK patients with similar prescriptions. The patients involved in the study were very nearsighted (8-12 diopters of nearsightedness prior to surgery), and their visual outcomes were measured at regular intervals post-operatively. The results showed that Visian provided superior post-operative visual acuities when compared with the LASIK population. For Visian patients, 52% of patients demonstrated post-operative uncorrected visual acuities of 20/20 or better, while only 35% of LASIK patients were able to achieve 20/20 vision or better following surgery. Additionally, patients who received the Visian lens also reported a better quality of vision than those who had undergone LASIK, and the Visian ICL has been shown to induce significantly fewer higher order aberrations than LASIK. In fact, symptoms such as glare, halos, double vision, night vision difficulty and night driving difficulty were largely absent or mild when measured 3 years postoperatively.

How does Verisyse™ compare with LASIK?

Verisyse clinical investigators conducted a randomized comparison of Verisyse with LASIK in myopic patients correcting between -9D and -19.5D of nearsightedness. Sixty-one patients (90 eyes) were studied with a mean refraction of -13.5D. Thirty percent of patients received the Verisyse in one eye and LASIK in the other eye. Results provided in the table below demonstrate that both patient groups ended with similar refractions post-operatively, varying from Plano to -1D, a significant improvement from the -13.5D pre-operatively. However, the extreme flattening of the cornea that occurs with LASIK in this highly-nearsighted population has caused surgeon concern about vision quality post-LASIK. As demonstrated in the chart, patients with extreme nearsightedness did better with Verisyse in their visual acuity, lines of vision gained, and minimal loss of contrast sensitivity.

How effective is the Verisyse lens?

Patients who choose the Verisyse lens usually have been frustrated with glasses and contacts for a very long time. Their degree of nearsightedness is such that it was often difficult for them to be fitted with glasses or contacts. FDA trial data indicates the vision improvement with Verisyse is substantial. This chart shows the vision Verisyse patients have in their first implanted eye at 3 years post-op without the use of any glasses or contacts.

Depending upon your individual measurements and visual needs, Dr. Horn will recommend either the Visian or Verisyse lens. The phakic lens implant procedure is performed on an outpatient basis and takes about 15 to 30 minutes. Usually, one eye is treated at a time with both eyes treated within a few weeks of each other.