Lens replacement surgery

Phakic IOL cost depends on factors including the lens required and your individual treatment plan. Both treatment and consultation costs depend on your individual assessment.

We will explain your consultation fee and full [treatment costs](/pricing/) clearly before you decide whether to proceed.

Potentially, yes. A large pupil does not automatically determine whether you can or cannot have Phakic IOL Surgery.

Pupil size is one of the measurements considered during your assessment, particularly when discussing the possibility of night-time visual effects such as glare or halos. The decision also depends on your prescription, internal eye dimensions, lens design and overall eye health.

A Phakic IOL does not remove your natural lens, so you can still develop a cataract later in life. Lens implantation may also cause a cataract to develop earlier than it otherwise would in some patients. This is one reason continued eye-health monitoring is recommended.

If cataract surgery becomes necessary in the future, the Phakic IOL can be removed before the procedure.

Yes. Ongoing eye examinations are important following all refractive surgery, including Phakic IOL Surgery.

After Phakic IOL implantation these checks can monitor your eye pressure, corneal health, implant position, natural lens and overall eye health. Regular follow-up is particularly important because some changes, including cataract formation, can develop over time.

No. With a Phakic IOL, your natural lens remains inside the eye, and an additional corrective lens is implanted alongside it. Lens Replacement Surgery removes the natural lens permanently and replaces it with an artificial lens.

The two treatments are therefore generally suited to different patient profiles.

Laser eye surgery corrects your prescription by reshaping the cornea. Phakic IOL Surgery instead places an additional corrective lens inside the eye and does not permanently reshape or thin the cornea.

With Phakic IOL Surgery, surgeons can treat higher prescriptions and thinner corneas, in many cases beyond what laser eye surgery can achieve.

For the majority of patients, Phakic IOL Surgery can result in a significant improvement in vision and greater independence from glasses or contact lenses. However, no refractive surgery can guarantee complete freedom from corrective eyewear, and some people may still need glasses for certain tasks or later in life.

Substantial visual recovery often occurs within a few days, although everybody heals at a different rate. Some visual effects, particularly glare or halos, may take longer to settle.

Your follow-up appointments allow the team to monitor your healing and advise when you can safely return to activities such as driving.

Vision often improves considerably during the first few days, but it can initially fluctuate as your eyes recover. You may temporarily notice blur, glare, halos or greater sensitivity to bright lights, particularly at night.

These effects generally improve over time. Your final result depends on your original prescription, eye health, lens choice and individual response to surgery.

Yes. One benefit of Phakic IOL Surgery is that the implant can be removed if clinically necessary, because your natural lens has not been removed. It can also be removed as part of future cataract surgery if needed later in life.

Removal should not, however, be described as a guarantee that every complication associated with the original surgery can be reversed.

Phakic IOL implantation is an established vision correction procedure, but no surgery inside the eye is completely without risk.

Potential complications include infection, raised eye pressure, inflammation, cataract formation, problems with the implant's position or size and, rarely, significant vision loss. Careful suitability screening and ongoing eye-health checks are therefore important, and your surgeon will explain the risks associated with the specific lens recommended for you.

A Phakic IOL is an artificial corrective lens implanted inside the eye without removing your natural lens. It works alongside your natural lens to correct how light focuses and reduce dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

Some intraocular lenses, such as the premium range used at Optilase, are available with toric astigmatism correction. Whether a toric lens is suitable depends on the amount and type of astigmatism and your individual eye measurements.

An implanted lens can sometimes be exchanged, but this requires another intraocular procedure and carries its own risks. For that reason your surgeon will discuss your lens choice with you before surgery, rather than assuming it can easily be changed afterwards.

Our team can explain the options if a lens exchange ever becomes clinically appropriate.

The same broad types of intraocular lens can be used in both procedures. The main difference is why the natural lens is being removed.

Cataract Surgery treats a lens that has become cloudy, whereas Lens Replacement Surgery may be done primarily to correct vision before a significant cataract has developed. The lens itself is then selected according to your prescription, eye health and visual goals.

Potentially, yes. The artificial lens implanted during Cataract Surgery can be selected with your visual goals in mind, but not every lens type is suitable for every patient. Your surgeon will assess your eye health and discuss whether a multifocal or monofocal option is best suited to you.

For the majority of patients the brain adapts smoothly, and the trade-off is well worth the reduced dependence on glasses. Some patients do notice halos or glare around lights, particularly at night.

These effects may become less noticeable with time, but they are an important consideration when deciding whether a multifocal lens fits your lifestyle.

No. Multifocal lenses are designed to reduce dependence on glasses across several distances, but complete glasses independence cannot be guaranteed. Some people may still prefer or require glasses for particular tasks or fine visual work.

Usually, yes, for at least some activities. If your monofocal lens is targeted for clear distance vision, you will normally need reading glasses for close work and may also use glasses for some intermediate tasks.

Not necessarily. Multifocal lenses offer greater potential for glasses independence, but they can also produce more visual effects such as glare or halos.

A monofocal lens may be more appropriate if you are comfortable wearing glasses for some activities, or if your eye health or lifestyle makes multifocal optics less suitable.

Treatment costs depend on the type of lens and the individual treatment plan recommended for you. Your full costs will be explained clearly before you decide whether to proceed. You can see current prices on our pricing page.

Lens Replacement Surgery can correct a wide range of prescriptions, including high myopia in patients who are very short-sighted. As with any medical procedure, it is important to consider the potential risks and complications.

Highly short-sighted eyes can have a greater risk of retinal detachment and may require more comprehensive pre-operative testing to assess suitability. For some patients another option, such as a phakic lens implant, may offer a more appropriate balance of benefits and risks.

Temporary soreness, irritation and dry-eye symptoms can occur after lens surgery. Lubricating eye drops may help while the eye recovers. Discuss persistent symptoms with your clinical team so they can assess the eye surface.

Initial recovery normally takes several days, although vision can continue to settle beyond this point. You may experience some initial blur, glare, sensitivity or fluctuating vision while the eye heals. Adaptation can take longer with some lens designs.

Your follow-up appointments allow your clinical team to monitor your progress and advise when you can safely return to activities such as driving.

A monofocal lens provides one main focal point, while a multifocal lens is designed to provide useful focus across more than one distance.

A multifocal lens may reduce your overall dependence on glasses, while a monofocal lens usually means using glasses for distances outside its selected focus.

Potentially, yes. A monofocal lens normally provides clear focus at one selected distance, while multifocal lens designs aim to reduce dependence on glasses across a wider range of near, intermediate and distance vision. The best option depends on your eye health and visual priorities. No lens design can guarantee complete freedom from glasses for every activity.

Yes, it is a permanent solution to presbyopia, the natural loss of near vision due to age. The natural lens is permanently removed and replaced with an artificial lens implant. The intraocular lens does not break down, wear out or need replacing, and it will never develop cataracts.

While the implant itself lasts, other parts of the eye can still change as you age, so minor shifts in vision are expected over time.

You cannot develop a cataract in a natural lens that has already been removed.

However, the thin capsule that holds the artificial lens can sometimes become cloudy months or years later. This is known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and is different from a cataract returning. If it significantly affects vision, it can usually be treated with a short laser procedure called YAG capsulotomy.

The surgical technique is essentially the same: the natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens. The main difference is why the procedure is being performed.

Cataract surgery is carried out because the natural lens has become cloudy and is affecting vision. Refractive Lens Replacement is performed primarily to correct the prescription and reduce dependence on glasses, often before a visually significant cataract has developed.

A further long-term benefit is that, once the natural lens has been removed, a cataract cannot subsequently develop in that lens.

While no surgery is completely risk-free, Lens Replacement Surgery is carefully planned to minimise avoidable risk. Our experienced surgeons use detailed pre-operative assessments, precise measurements and modern surgical technology to determine the safest and most appropriate treatment for your eyes.

Potential complications can include infection, inflammation, retinal problems, issues with the position or power of the lens implant and, rarely, significant loss of vision. Your surgeon will assess your individual risk factors and explain the benefits and risks relevant to you before treatment.

Lens Replacement Surgery, also known as Refractive Lens Exchange, is a procedure in which the natural lens inside the eye is removed and replaced with a synthetic intraocular lens. The replacement lens is selected to correct your prescription and, depending on the lens design, may reduce your dependence on glasses for one or several viewing distances.

Lens implant surgery is a term used to describe procedures that involve operating within the eye (intra-ocular) rather than on the surface, to either place an artificial implant to correct vision or replace the existing lens of the eye and adjust the prescription at the same time. IOLs are a permanent vision correction solution and will prevent you from ever developing cataracts as you age.