Implantable Contact Lens (ICL) Surgery

Featuring Dr. Baseer Khan, MD, FRCS(C), P.CEO, Ophthalmologist

Duration: 1 minutes, 34 seconds

So an ICL, or an intraocular collamer lens, is a lens that’s put inside the eye without removing the natural lens of the eye. It sits between the iris and the lens. The patients most likely to have or require ICL are patients who are not candidates for laser eye surgery. People with extreme prescriptions, either plus or minus.

It’s a very effective surgery, it does carry a slightly higher risk than laser eye surgery, but is generally very well tolerated. ICL surgery usually takes about 5-10 minutes per eye. Both eyes are usually done consecutively at the same sitting. So total surgery time will be about half an hour.

Usually patients are seeing great even within 24 hours. The recovery is fairly benign and uneventful. Patients just are often required to take drops for about 3 to 4 weeks after surgery and should really keep light activities for the first week, but then after that, they’re pretty much free to do as they please.

There is a small risk associated with ICL surgery that your surgeons can review with you, but the vast majority of patients who have ICL surgery have great vision almost immediately after the surgery and will continue to maintain that vision for a very long period of time.

If you have any questions about this new and exciting technology please talk to your optometrist or your local refractive surgeon to get more information and see if you’re a candidate.

Presenter: Dr. Baseer Khan, Ophthalmologist, Vaughan, ON

Local Practitioners: Ophthalmologist