Guide to Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) Surgery: Pros and Cons

If you are considering corrective eye surgery to either help improve your sight or to help treat a condition you have, you might not know much about Refractive Lens Exchange and whether or not it’s right for you. The truth is that it’s not for everyone. However, it’s the only effective way to treat certain conditions and types of sight problems. Here are some pros and cons that will help you determine if it’s right for you.

What is Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery?

Also known as Lens Replacement Surgery, it is a surgical procedure that replaces your eye’s natural lens if it does not properly refract light. There are a number of eye conditions that this can cure, as well as types of sight deficiencies. When exchanging your refractive lens for an artificial one, there are three types of Artificial Intraocular Lens that you can have as replacements:

• Monofocal — fixed focus lens to provide clear vision for long, medium or short distances
• Accommodating — a type of monofocal lens that can work for multiple distances with the ability to shift positions in the eye
• Multifocal — provides clear vision for all distances

You should request an appointment with your eye doctor to determine what the best type of lens is for you. When compared to other surgical procedures, it is very similar to cataract surgery, only it replaces your natural lens with a clear artificial lens instead of a cloudy one. The cloudy lens are used to treat cataracts, whereas a clear one helps improve your sight or correct other conditions. The surgery usually takes around 15 minutes for one eye, with at least one week between the procedure on the second eye. Basic recovery takes around a week, though complete recovery can take months.

Pros

The benefit of Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) surgery is that it is either the only or the most appropriate procedure for treating certain eye conditions and vision problems. Specifically, it is the best way to fix presbyopia and extreme far sightedness, and in fact might also be the only way to get clearer vision without still relying on glasses post-surgery. It also has other benefits, such as:

• Treats or prevents cataracts, astigmatism, presbyopia, long-sightedness, short-sightedness, corneal problems and dry eyes
• Removes reliance on glasses and other corrective lenses and reduces the headaches and eye strain associated with their use
• Acts as an alternative for people who are not able to have other corrective eye surgeries for whatever reason

It also generally improves the eye health and reduces the likelihood that you’ll develop an eye infection. Depending on the specific conditions of your eyes and how they affect you, you might receive only some of these benefits. But these are the most common benefits for Refractive Eye Exchange.

Cons

While RFE surgery has great benefits to patients with these conditions, it is not as beneficial to those who have different conditions. There are other potential drawbacks as well, compared to other types of corrective eye surgery:

• People with myopia (near sightedness) are at a greater risk of retinal detachment during RFE and should only resort to it if other surgeries are not viable at all
• It is rare but possible that you might have to undergo further treatment post-RFE surgery to gain the full benefits to your vision
• RFE surgery is about much more expensive than LASIK or other more common types of eye surgery

It’s extremely important to see your eye doctor to make sure your eye conditions are properly diagnosed. They will also ensure that you have the right eye prescription or make the best recommendation for what type of eye surgery is best for you by helping you navigate through the risks, pros and cons. This is what will help you to make an informed decision for your eye care.