The minute you are diagnosed with nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism (refractive errors), glasses or contact lenses become a daily way of life. While these vision tools can greatly improve your vision, they definitely limit you from certain activities. In addition, the constant costs of maintaining glasses and contacts can take a toll on your finances.

Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) is a procedure that can correct your vision by replacing your natural lens with a lens implant. Dr. Pendleton performs RLE with great success on people over age 18. However, this procedure is especially helpful for people over age 55 who have a refractive error as well as presbyopia (the need for reading glasses). As an added benefit, RLE will prevent you from getting cataracts in the future.

RLE is identical to cataract surgery, except that it is performed before cataracts have developed. Refractive Lens Exchange is a permanent and maintenance-free vision correction option with a quick visual recovery time. It takes approximately 15-20 minutes per eye. After your natural lens is removed, it is replaced with an artificial Intraocular Lens (IOL). There are many lens implants available that can correct both distance and near vision such as:

• Extended Depth of Focus
• Multifocal
• Multifocal-Toric lenses

Dr. Pendleton will explain these options in detail during your appointment and help you make the right decision for your lifestyle, vision goals, and eye health.

Refractive Errors Explained

• Emmetropia: the absence of a refractive error.  Emmetropia is the goal of refractive surgery.
• Nearsightedness (Myopia): the eye is too long or the cornea is too steeply curved. Light passes through the eye but focuses before it reaches the retina, which causes distant objects to appear blurry.
• Farsightedness (Hyperopia): the eye is too short or the cornea is relatively flat. Before light has covered enough distance to focus, it reaches the retina, which causes images that are close at hand to be blurred.  Depending upon age and the ability to accommodate, distant objects usually appear blurry as well.
• Astigmatism: the cornea is oval-shaped like a football. When light passes through the cornea, it focuses in more than one place relative to the retina, which causes images near or far to appear blurred and distorted.

Vision Disorders

To find out if RLE in Carlsbad, California, is right for you, contact us today to schedule a comprehensive evaluation.