Want to Get Rid of Those Reading Glasses?

In the next year we will have access to a surgical medical device to correct reading vision in patients who don’t need distance glasses or contacts but require glasses for near vision. The corneal inlay is a very small lens that will be placed under a flap in the cornea. The same laser that is used to make a corneal flap during the LASIK will be used. The lens is placed in one eye, the non-dominant eye and the procedure will take only about 10 minutes. Monovision , where the focal point is set for near in one eye, and distance in the other eye, is another way to correct near vision loss with aging. 

However, the near eye will never have good distance vision with monovision, unlike the corneal inlay where the treated near non-dominant eye continues to have very good distance vision. The procedure can be done in patients that have had previous LASIK and cataract surgery and only require reading correction. In the U.S., two different corneal inlays for presbyopia are undergoing FDA clinical trials. 

The first, PresbyLens (ReVision Optics), is a hydrogel implant that

alters the anterior corneal shape. The second, Kamra (AcuFocus), creates a pinhole effect to increase depth of field. Look for FDA approval of these exciting products in the next year.