Removal of the naturally occurring lens, and exchanging it by an artificil lens with the appropriate power to reduce or nullify dependence on glasses is called Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). This is resorted to in extreme cases of short or long-sightedness, when LASIK, Femto-LASIK or ICL implantation are not suitable for the case. RLE is very similar to the most widely performed eye surgery; cataract surgery, which involoves the removal of of an opacified natural lens and implanting a suitably powered flexible synthetic lens in its stead.
The difference here is that we exchange the lens solely for a refractive purpose for vision correction. through a tiny incision. The tiny incision closes by itself, without sutures.
The moderrn technology and designs of modern intraocular lenses involve some revolutionary concepts. It is possible now to implant a multifocal intraocular lens, thus largely eliminating the need for reading glasses. In addition, it is possible to implant astigmatism correcting toric intraocular lenses, which can correct not only the present short-sightedness or long-sightedness, but also concurrent astigmatism.
As with any surgery to be carried inside the eye, the health of the eye and its parts are essential before having RLE. A disadvantage in younger population of high myopia is that accommodation (which is the power to see at far and at near with the same visual system) is lost. This, however, can be overcome by implantation of multifocal lenses in selected individuals, or by targted selection of lenses by the experienced eye surgeon.
