An eye surgery classically performed on patients having acute nearsightedness might be as safe and effectual as standard laser eye surgery in case of a patients having less acute kind of nearsightedness. This latest study finding was printed in the newest edition of ‘The Cochrane Library’.
Investigators from the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London did a review of 3 clinical studies which arbitrarily allotted patients to varying kinds of surgical procedures employed for rectifying myopia or nearsightedness.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), nearsightedness is the principal reason for impaired eyesight worldwide. In the United States alone, thirty-two million individuals in the age of forty years and more have myopia.
The more prevalently done laser eye surgery procedure is the excimer laser refractive surgery for myopia treatment involving cornea removal. The second method that is comparatively new-fangled and not employed as extensively is implantation of a fine lens known as phakic intraocular lens (IOL) – a permanent implant into the eye for eliminating the requirement of any eye spectacles or eye contacts. Both of these methods alter the light path which enters the eye and brings image into clearer focus.
Phakic IOLs : Cataract Risk
The research revealed that one year subsequent to having undergone the procedure, twenty by twenty spectacle-free vision was analogous for patients who had undergone laser surgery or phakic IOL. A year subsequent to the surgical method, those patients who had undergone phakic IOL surgery had sharper spectacle-rectified eyesight, improved contrast sensitiveness (the capability of perceiving objects from their backgrounds) and greater satisfaction scoring as compared to patients undergoing laser eye surgery. But, there was a small heightened risk of cataract forming in the phakic IOL patient set.
The investigators arrived at a conclusion on the basis of the 3 clinical studies which comprised of an entirety of 132 candidates from both genders in the age band from 21-60 years having moderate to acute-ranging myopia.
Study investigator Allon Barsam stated that the benefits of phakic IOLs are that they do not need removal of cornea tissue and surgery could be reversed in case an unanticipated occurrence of any issue surfaces by removing the man-made lens at a subsequent date. He added that study results indicate that phakic IOLs are a better option to excimer laser surgery for rectifying moderate to elevated levels of myopia.
In regards to cataract risk, Barsam stated that further long-standing researches are necessary for assessing any type of risks which may not surface during a 1-year follow-up and that may be distinctive to phakic IOL patients.
