Phakic Intraocular Lens
For prescriptions too high for laser: a second lens implanted while the eye’s own lens is left in place.
When the prescription is too high to be corrected with laser, the refractive error is corrected by placing a lens inside the eye.
Inside the eye there is a clear lens. In phakic intraocular lens surgery, a second, artificial lens is placed in front of the eye’s own lens.
Where the Phakic Lens Is Placed
A phakic intraocular lens can be placed in two positions:
- In front of the pupil (attached in the area called the “angle”, or to the iris — the coloured part of the eye)
- Behind the pupil
In people over 40, a method called “clear lens extraction” can also be used. In this method the person’s own lens is removed, as in cataract surgery, and replaced with an artificial lens whose power is chosen so that no prescription remains after surgery. The disadvantage of removing the person’s own lens is that, while the need for distance glasses disappears, glasses are still needed for near vision. For this reason clear lens extraction is done after the age of 40, when the need for reading glasses has already begun.
Who Can Have a Phakic Intraocular Lens?
- Those older than 22
- Those whose prescription has been stable for the past year
- Those with more than 10 dioptres of myopia or more than 5–6 dioptres of hyperopia
- Those whose “anterior chamber” — the front part of the eye — is deep enough (if the lens is to be placed in front of the pupil)
- Those with no eye disease other than the refractive error
- Those with an adequate endothelial cell count in the cornea
Possible Complications of Phakic Lens Surgery
- A serious eye infection called “endophthalmitis”
- Tears or detachment of the retina (the nerve layer of the eye). This may require argon laser treatment of the eye or an operation called vitrectomy.
- Residual prescription
- With a lens placed in front: oedema (fluid build-up) in the cornea, the clear layer of the eye
- With a lens placed behind: cataract forming in the eye’s own lens
- Raised pressure inside the eye
Phakic Lens Surgery at a Glance
- Anaesthesia
- Anaesthetic drops or general anaesthesia
- Duration
- 15 minutes per eye
- Bandage
- The eyes are bandaged.
- After surgery
- Mild stinging and redness, which can last 5–7 days.
- Vision
- Clear vision once the bandage is removed the next day.
- Return to work
- The next day
- Eye drops
- For one month
- Eye check-ups
- The day after surgery, after 1 month and after 3 months
Have your eyes assessed
Send your prescription history, previous eye reports and any corneal imaging for an individual assessment — in person in İstanbul or over video.
With every surgical or interventional procedure, results vary from person to person. Please obtain a detailed opinion from your doctor before any procedure.
This article is for general information only and does not replace a medical examination or personalised medical advice.