Presbyopia New Treatments Available
Tired of your reading glasses? Now is the time to do something about it.
As we age, the lens inside of the eye becomes less elastic. This prevents it from changing shape, and the eye gradually loses its ability to change its focusing power. About the age of 45, patients who have perfect distance vision without glasses or contact lenses begin to notice that near objects are blurred. This happens when the lens loses enough of its focusing power so that objects at ordinary reading distance are not sharply focused on the retina. The aging process that causes the lens to lose its focusing power is called presbyopia.
 Presbyopia may seem to occur suddenly, but the actual loss of flexibility takes place over a number of years. Presbyopia initially becomes noticeable in the early to mid-forties. Presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process of the eye. It is not a disease and it cannot be prevented.
In the past, treatments for presbyopia included reading glasses, bifocals, trifocals, or even mono-vision LASIK or contact lenses. Today, new technology, new developments and modifications in existing treatments in the industry, and here at InView, have allowed the surgeons at InView to treat presbyopia successfully. Below are a few of the treatment options available. A comprehensive 4Sight Exam will allow your surgeon to determine the best course of treatment for your particular eyes.
MultiFocus LASIK
MultiFocus (MF) LASIK is an option for those who wish to minimize the dependency on reading glasses as they become presbyopic. With MF one eye is corrected for distance and the other eye is intentionally left nearsighted; however, unlike monovision there is not a wide disparity between both eyes so that the brain assimilates both corrections into one.
Patients who choose to have MF LASIK typically experience a period of adaptation, during which time their brain learns to assimilate the correction in both eyes. Most MF patients still read 20/20 in the distance; however, the letters are not as crisp as they would be with both eyes focused in the distance. This is the compromise that must be made to avoid the need for reading glasses.
MF can be created by a variety of techniques that surgically change the shape of the cornea. The selection of a surgical procedure depends on a number of factors, such as the shape of the cornea before surgery, the power of glasses (if any) that are required to correct distance vision, the presence or absence of astigmatism, and the thickness of the cornea.
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Crystalens
The Crystalens is a revolutionary new breakthrough in vision enhancement. It is the first intraocular lens (IOL) that focuses like the eye's natural lens, allowing for continuous vision up close, far away and all distances in between. Unlike standard IOLs, the Crystalens can restore functional vision and in most cases eliminate the need for glasses and contacts for everyday tasks, allowing patients to see well and look their best. With Crystalens, patients will have the opportunity to potentially experience the freedom of seeing well at all distances without glasses.
By using the eye's muscle to move the lens in response to the brain's desire to see at different distances, Crystalens enables the eye to focus continuously and seamlessly through a range of distances, including near, far and everything in between.
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Conductive Keratoplasty (About NearVisionSM CK)
NearVisionSM CK (Conductive Keratoplasty) represents another new advancement in vision improvement technology. Developed specifically for patients over 40 who are tired of their reading glasses, NearVisionSM CK is another option and has been offered as an alternative to laser surgery. In this procedure, the cornea is reshaped to improve near vision. It uses a controlled release of radio frequency (RF) energy to shrink
corneal tissue, which steepens the cornea. This steepening creates a safe and predictable modification to the topographical (surface) curvature of the cornea for the temporary reduction of presbyopic and hyperopic symptoms. In fact, NearVisionSM CK is performed using a technology approved by the FDA for improving near vision in baby boomer patients — the ViewPoint® CK System.
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