The only real reason that you can’t read anymore or have a difficult time seeing things up-close with your own eyes and end up with reading glasses that stick with you all the time is because your natural lens is getting “old”.
Yes, there is a lens in your eye that helps you to see things. When you were young, your lens was still flexible and could change its focusing power and allow you to have great visual range. But after 50, your lens will lose its flexibility and can’t keep up with you anymore.
The result? People end up sticking with reading with eyeglasses because they just can’t see. It is very common that some basic daily activities can become a lot more difficult. Put it simply: Texting, using a smartphone, reading menus, going shopping, seeing price tags, putting make up and all activities that require you to see closer than your eyes will allow ‒ you need glasses.
To make the situation worse, if you already needed glasses since you were young, you will end up with two to three pairs of eyeglasses or progressive eyeglasses since your old prescription eyeglasses are not enough anymore.
At some point you found that your life was changed forever since your reading glasses became your extra organ. They will stick with you all the time if not always on your face, they will stay in your purse, on your forehead, in your pocket. This is all because “you just can’t see”.
Is there any solution or is it possible to turn the clock back and make you able to see just like when you were young again?
The answer is: Yes. It is very possible, but not with the Laser Vision Correction procedure (which is most people know as LASIK), which is only to correct your distance vision ‒ you will still need reading glasses for up-close vision after the procedure. Nowadays, most LASIK surgeons will not recommend you for the procedure if you are older than 50 because it just doesn’t work for what you need.
In this case, you will need the lens replacement procedure (“Refractive Lens Exchange”, or “R-L-E”).
This procedure is very different since it involves replacing the degraded natural lens with a special lens implant which is called a “Multifocal lens”. This lens implant is specifically designed to enhance your visual range, allow you to see both near and far and can significantly reduce the need for eyeglasses. It is highly possible that after the procedure, patients can see and perform more than 90% of their daily activities with their own eyes.
Throughout my career of 10+ years with more than 1,000 procedures, there have been a lot of questions regarding the lens replacement procedure itself, which is not possible to put all here. But the key takeaway of the procedure is like this:
Lens replacement procedure had been around for 30+ years, which means the procedure isn’t new and has been proven as very safe (we are talking about less than 1% for overall risk) and the visual outcome has improved significantly in last 10+ years, thanks to the cutting edge of the newest generation of Multifocal lens, which is called a “Trifocal” lens implant.
A Trifocal lens implant works very different from your progressive/Multifocal eyeglasses since you will need to look up and down through different portions of the lens to shift between far and near vision. The Trifocal lens will provide you with multiple focuses all the time and your brain will find the correct focus automatically and naturally, just like a normal eye does.
The lens implant does not degrade. The procedure is supposed to be done only once in a lifetime and is considered a permanent solution to correct your vision. The procedure usually takes only 30 mins for an eye and most patients can use operated eyes to perform their daily activities in less than 24 hours (some patients can text on a mobile phone immediately).
Lastly, it is just like any other procedure, which always involves some risk and the perfect outcome can’t be guaranteed even if the to-date collective result is highly successful.
Since I’ve performed this procedure for a very long time. There are plenty of people in our Phuket community that have already had the procedure. You can ask them about the real actual result, which will be a very good real life and realistic example that can guide you as to whether or not the procedure is for you.
If you wish to learn more about the procedure in detail. I recommend you to read formal information at https://www.brightviewcenter.com. I have put a lot of information there. If you have more questions, you can reach me and my team at bpk.brightview@bgh.co.th. They are more than ready to serve you.
Regards
Captain Wiriyaluppa, MD.
BrightView Center
(Located @ 2nd floor, Bangkok Hospital Phuket)
Website: https://www.brightviewcenter.com
