Unlike other refractive procedures that change the shape of the cornea, clear lens extraction corrects vision by removing the crystalline lens in the eye and replacing it with a new artificial lens of a different focusing power. This is much like what happens in cataract surgery.
State-of-the-art instruments are used to measure your eye for the correct lens power, taking your lifestyle and activities into consideration. These custom measurements are entered into sophisticated formulae to calculate your personal implant power.
Cataract surgery has been successfully performed for years and has been one of the major advancements in the restoration of sight in the last decade. The clear lens extraction procedure resembles cataract surgery. However, in cataract surgery the removed lens is cloudy whereas in clear lens extraction the removed lens is clear.
Clear lens extraction has been performed extensively in Europe over the past 20 years with excellent results in correcting moderate to high far-sightedness and near-sightedness with or without astigmatism.
Cataract surgery and clear lens extraction are essentially the same operation which involves both the cornea and lens and is the commonest operation done in the UK. With more than 300,000 a year being performed.