Researchers in Japan have found the Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL), a posterior chamber phakic IOL, is safe and effective for the correction of moderate and high myopia.
The Visian ICL, like other phakic IOLs, is implanted inside the eye without removing the eye’s natural lens. The phakic IOL procedure primarily is designed to correct high amounts of nearsightedness that may not be effectively treated with LASIK and other laser vision correction procedures.
Visian ICL: Study design
The study evaluated the visual outcomes and safety of the Visian ICL over a 4-year period after implantation in 56 myopic eyes. The amount of nearsightedness in the eyes prior to surgery ranged from -4.00 to -15.00 diopters (D).
Safety, efficacy, refractive stability and adverse events were evaluated 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 months after surgery.
Visian ICL: Study results
Four years after Visian ICL surgery in this group of eyes, the researchers found:
- Mean uncorrected visual acuity was 20/20.
- Mean best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was better than 20/15.
- 79 percent of eyes were within 0.50 D of the targeted correction.
- 93 percent of eyes were within 1.00 D of the targeted correction.
- The correction provided by the Visian ICL was stable, with a mean change in manifest refraction of -0.24 D from 1 month to 4 years after surgery.
No vision-threatening complications occurred in any eye during the 4-year follow-up period of the study.
About the Visian ICL
The Visian ICL is a “posterior chamber” phakic IOL, meaning it is implanted behind the iris and pupil of the eye.
The device is called an implantable “collamer” lens because it is made of a biocompatible collagen copolymer.
The Visian ICL is manufactured by STAAR Surgical (Nidau, Switzerland).
SOURCE: Four-year follow-up of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation for moderate to high myopia. Archives of Ophthalmology. July 2009.
Tags: implantable lenses