Risk Free Treatment For Your Eyes

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 15:58

The rising pollution and long hour before the computer screen is leading to the rise in eye problems. Laser treatment of eyes is at present the best solution which involves a lot of cost and risk but scientists have developed a new type of procedure that could be a safer alternative to corrective laser eye surgery.

According to a new Cochrane Systematic Review, the new eye corrective procedure called insertion of Phakic Intraocular Lenses (IOLs) could be comparatively safer and popular, thought it doesn"t differ too much from the conventional laser surgery process.

Both procedures change the path of the light entering the eye and bringing images into focus in the right place. The only difference is that Laser surgery removes parts of the cornea, whereas the new procedure uses a synthetic lens inserted in front of the natural lens.

"Our findings suggest Phakic IOLs are safer than excimer laser surgery for correcting moderate to high levels of short-sightedness. Although it''s not currently standard clinical practice, it could be worth considering phakic IOL treatment over the more common laser surgery for patients with moderate short-sightedness," says lead author Allon Barsam.

The Phakic IOLs, have been suggested to be very effective by 132 patients with the 20/20 vision. Patients undergoing this treatment have had clearer spectacle corrected vision and better contrast sensitivity. Phakic IOL procedure also scored higher in patient satisfaction questionnaires.

There are symptoms that Phakic IOL may increase the risk of cataract. But this aspect has to be further investigated.