Has anyone had Lens replacement?

[Squished22]

due to extreme short sightedness in one eye my optician suggested I consider lens replacement. It would need to be done privately and it isn’t cheap. Has anyone had this procedure?

Had it done privately in 2020 to correct extreme astigmatism & short sightedness. I couldn’t wear lenses any more because of iritis and dry eyes.

It’s been life changing. No longer need lenses or glasses. I had the most expensive option - toric + trifocal so I can see near, middle & far distance. Cost £6,000 (discounted due to working for the nhs) Would have been £7,500 I think.

I had them done separately, a couple of weeks apart. Took about 15 mins per eye. You can’t see anything coming towards you because the dilating drops makes it blurry. And I didn’t feel anything other than slight pressure because they numb it completely with anaesthetic drops. When the lens was removed I saw swirly colours but then my vision was back as soon as they put the replacement in. The following day I could see the individual blades of grass in my back garden and I’d not been able to see that before.

Hi @TotallyWhatever I can understand your apprehension about the operation. It is pretty nerve wracking, the waiting is the worst part. The operation itself is totally painless and very quick. About ten minutes per eye.

You actually don't see the scalpel coming towards your eye. It approaches from the side so you don't see it at all. There is some mild discomfort and a feeling of pressure at times but no pain.

I got a light self adhesive cotton wool type patch for the treated eye which stayed on for 24 hours. Then the next day I had the other eye done. My vision was a bit weird and wobbly at first but that resolved in a day or two. There was a slight scratchy feeling in both eyes from the incision but that disappeared in about one week.

You have to follow a strict regimen of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops several times a day for four weeks after the op.

For me ten minutes of discomfort per eye and a few weeks of eye drops was well worth it for good vision for the rest of my life.

@utterflapdoodle thank you so much for reassurance!

Hi, I've just had both eyes done on Tuesday... very longsighted and astigmatism .. did you have lights (a bit like a kaleidoscope) in your peripheral vision? If yes, how long until that went?

I had my operation in May 2022. Directly after the operation I did have what I can only describe as wobbliness in my vision but that passed very quickly. After a day or two it was gone.

Even now under some light conditions I can see the edge of the implanted lenses with a kind of mild strobing effect.

This only happens in very particular light conditions like in a dark bedroom with one point of bright light like an alarm clock so it's not a major problem.

Yeah I’ve got that now, I was hoping that was temporary but sounds like it’s not!

Make sure you are drinking enough. I had mine done about 14 years ago and do occasionally get the strobing at the edges - dosing a pint of water stops it.

oooh that’s interesting, thanks so much for the tip! It does say to drink plenty doesn’t it!

I have new lenses due to cataracts. I also have astigmatism. My surgery was on the NHS. My astigmatism was not quite severe enough for them to correct with a toric lens. I had -14 sight from birth and am happy with my result.

I have occasional strobing at the edges with my lenses.
For me it's a sign of dehydration and a large glass of water sorts it. 😁
Other than that, no problems.

I was also turned down, due to risk of retinal detachment increasing, bit disappointed, surgeon said he would do it if I got cataracts but not at present.

Ah that’s a shame I bet you are disappointed but much better that he’s being careful 😊

@jesseastmids in answer to your question above, about having it done and still needing glasses, -2.50 would allow reading without glasses on and many people prefer this option. Generally unless you go for multifocal implants (or have one eye left short sighted on purpose) you will still need glasses for some tasks, but hopefully not full time. Plus some people don’t mind wearing glasses afterwards, they just like the reduced dependence on them, and the better vision if they had cataracts which are removed.

I've had previous retinal detachments in both eyes (40 odd years ago) , but had to have mine done because of cataracts. They did warn me there was an increased risk, but it's been nearly 18 months and they're still ok.

Where did you have it done?

Hi
I m thinking of having intraocular lens to replace glasses for reading and distance.
can anyone recommend place to have replacement lens in London or Kent?

Optegra eye clinics are very good. I had mine done in Brighton. https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=8c7ab2d608782ad324412ecb55d881a49d5cf7a78d0e3336e0a8a2590090df46JmltdHM9MTczODk3MjgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=2d893548-eb46-63fa-1a7f-207eef4661c5&psq=optegra&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3B0ZWdyYS5jb20vaG9zcGl0YWxzLWFuZC1jbGluaWNzLw&ntb=1