RLE Surgery Turkey

What is RLE or Refractive Lens Surgery?

Refractive lens surgery (RLE Surgery) is the newest and most popular option for people wants to get rid of their glasses after the age of 45. Which is very different from laser eye surgery or LASIK.

For younger patient LASIK which is known as laser eye surgery can correct myopia astigmatism or hypermetropia. This treatment changes the shape of the outer surface of the eye and corrects your refractive error. In simple words, LASIK is like making a precise, transparent tattoo of your eyeglasses over your eye so you can see both far and near very clear until the age of 45.

But around age of 40 a condition called presbyopia starts. The natural lens inside of the eye which makes focus changes for reading starts to lose it’s focusing ability. So, if you are emmetropic which means you do not have myopia, astigmatism or hypermetropia or these errors were corrected by laser in younger ages, you will need reading glasses to see near clear. If you have myopia which means you need glasses for far, you must take of your far glasses to able to read. Finally, if you have hypermetropia you will need extra power reading glasses over your far distance glasses.

To correct presbyopia and the other refractive errors like myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism and to become completely glasses free both for reading, computer, phone, tv and driving only option is to change the aged natural lens of the eye with a high-tech presbyopia correcting artificial intraocular lens.

This surgery is basically a early done cataract surgery, which is done to correct presbyopia before the cataract occurs so it is called refractive lens exchange or RLE.

Who is suitable for refractive lens exchange?

People with hypermetropia over 40 is suitable for RLE depending their refractive error. If you are myopic it is better to do RLE over 50. For emmetropes who use only reading glasses and what to get rid of them RLE can be done after 45. A through eye exam to rule out any eye disease must be done before making any decision.

You can check our intraocular page for the types and properties of intraocular lenses.

Is laser eye surgery (LASIK) or RLE is better?

Both are reliable vision correcting surgical procedures. Laser eye surgery encompassing variations like LASIK, PRK, no touch laser, SMILE are suitable for patients younger than the age of 40. These procedures alter the shape of the cornea and solely address distance vision problems.

However, as individuals pass the age of 45, presbyopia starts, requiring reading glasses for close-up tasks, such as reading or viewing their phones. Laser eye surgery cannot correct presbyopia. To correct presbyopia and to get rid of reading glasses, the aged lens of the eye must be replaced with a high-tech artificial intraocular lens. This surgery is called RLE surgery and in addition to presbyopia, it can correct hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism. When compared to laser eye surgery which reshapes the cornea to correct distance vision problems, RLE is much more complex and requires implantation of an artificial intraocular lenses.

In summary, laser eye surgery is ideally performed between the ages of 20 and 40, correcting distance vision problems exclusively, while RLE corrects both near and far vision problems. RLE is typically recommended after the age of 45 for most individuals.

Are you suitable for RLE surgery?

RLE is an elective surgical procedure indicated to correct your refractive errors and presbyopia, enabling clear vision for both far and near without glasses. If you are happy with wearing glasses, you do not need RLE surgery. However, if you seek independence from glasses, RLE is the surgery of choice after the age of 45.

If you want RLE surgery, a detailed eye examination by your surgeon is essential to see if you are suitable. It is contraindicated in eye conditions like macular or retinal diseases, advanced glaucoma, or certain corneal problems.

What are the risks of RLE surgery?

As the RLE surgery is an early done standard cataract surgery it has the same risks of cataract surgery. Nearly 70000 cataract surgeries are performed every day and it is the most commonly performed surgery globally. Cataract surgery is one the most successful surgical procedure in human history, is also one of the safest.

The risk of visual loss after cataract surgery is less than 3 in every 10000 cases. This risk diminishes further when the surgery is conducted by an experienced surgeon using the highest quality single-use materials and FDA-approved intraocular lenses in a hospital adhering to strict sterilization criteria.

How is RLE surgery performed?

It is quite similar to standard cataract surgery as the natural lens of the patient is emulsified and taken out of the eye form a 2.2mm incision and artificial intraocular lens is implanted. It is done with eye drop anesthesia and the surgery takes around 15 minutes.