a lens implant that will allow me to thread a needle

mikaylar,

Are you saying to not have cataract surgery? At all? That would not make sense, right?

No, I am saying wait until you really have to get the surgery. I have friends who have had no problems at all.

OK - got it.

I have noted an increase in the number of folks (typically around 50 years of age and older), who, rather than having refractive surgery (LASIK or PRK) are paying for a Refractive Lens Exchange - this is to improve vision and reduce or eliminate reliance on glasses or contacts. The age factor is important as it recognizes the likelihood of cataracts occurring over the next two years - and, accepting this, simply skips the LASIK/PRK cost and procedure with IOLs implanted. One IOL of note is the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) which can be adjusted after implantation - conceptually like LASIK and PRK can be touched up to a desired script. A couple of citations: https://crstoday.com/articles/2018-may/early-lens-exchange, and https://www.discovervision.com/blog/rle-vs-cataract-surgery/.

Now, this isn't for everyone, but simply saying don't have surgery prior to cataracts forming does not, in my opinion, take into consideration a bit more modern approach.

BTW - I had PRK in 2007, then cataract surgery last year - and, I got the LAL IOL, and it has continued my ability to have 20/15 distance and J1+ near vision with the same mono/blended vision approach as with PRK.

Interesting and complicated. And Scary!

Sort of - but, here are the stats ... over 3,500,000 cataract surgeries, and over 850,000 LASIK/PRK surgeries, in the US each year.

Average age for cataract surgery is about 70, while most LASIK/PRK is gone prior to around 50. So, the age differences would naturally lead to more issues with cataract surgery, but even the rate is around 2%.

So, while cataract surgeries are complicated and could always result in surgical issues, they are so incredibly common that is is relatively rare for there to be major issues.

I believe there will be more and more folks, especially those who don't like wearing glasses, and those who want better vision, who choose to spend a bit more in their 50s for a premium IOL implantation - and skip the LASIK/PRK completely. This is kind of a one and done thing in most cases - there will never be a cataract to remove. Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO) will continue to be an issue with everyone - this is handled with a simple Nd:YAG laser procedure - most people get this after cataract surgeries - again, and one and done.

But most people don't deal with issues until they have too. I remember when laser to improve vision first came out, a friend had it. Years later he had vision issues from it and I believe he had to have another procedure. Speaking as a person with glaucoma and macular degeneration, vision problems are up there as being the scariest.

True - any pre-existing pathologies are really important.

my left eye was bad, my right eye isn't so bad, so I will wait and hopefully find a good Dr.

Please include your LAL journey - or refer to your previous posts. The LAL is not for the faint of heart. It is a marathon. Your refractive results are also due to monovision. I also don't think your LALs are "locked-in". Therefore, you are not completely finished. It would be very difficult for most people to spend the amount of time that you have recording all the adjustments and resulting refraction results. In addition, you have a remarkable ophthalmologist. It is unimaginable to me that I would ever be able to find an a ophthalmologist who would spend the time with me that your surgeon has spent with you. I am sincerely happy that the LALs have been so successful - but this IOL comes with a lot of effort. Each adjustment is so important - another surgery in my opinion.

Actually, my understanding is most folks complete LAL journey in about 2-3 months, some much faster, but given what you are doing, it simply takes time got your refractions to stabilize between surgeries and adjustment. I've been in no hurry, and I do have an ophthmologist I chose, vs luck of the draw - and given my eyes have had PRK, the LAL ensures I can get the buskin I want.

I also specifically did not want any lens that split the light (multifocals) due to reduced vision quality.

Has been fun ... no real effort that I know of. Sure, gotta go back and forth to fix a few times, but given my circumstances it has worked well.