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Phakic IOLs will affect physician practices
NEW YORK — While LASIK is currently the procedure of choice for the correction of refractive errors, “multifocal and phakic IOLs will have an impact on your practice in the near future,” said Eric Donnenfeld, MD, here at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium: Cataract, Glaucoma & Refractive Surgery.
Dr. Donnenfeld spoke about 10 ways to integrate phakic IOLs into an ophthalmic practice.
Phakic IOLs, he said, give “high patient and surgeon satisfaction.” A study of 412 patients implanted with phakic IOLs showed about 90% would recommend the surgery and an equal number were satisfied with the outcomes 1 year postoperatively.
It is a safe procedure with long-term follow-up, and Dr. Donnenfeld noted the lenses have been used in Europe for more than a decade. Also, PMMA optics “are better than corneal ablative procedures,” he said, and contrast sensitivity remains unchanged or improved, which is not always the case after a laser procedure.
The procedure and enclavation are easy, he said. Additionally, there is an “extraordinary ‘wow’ factor when you can take a –18 D patient and bring them to plano,” he said. “It’s a life-changing event.”
Dr. Donnenfeld believes the future of refractive surgery is IOLs, and by combining phakic IOLs with LASIK, patients can “achieve extraordinary visual results.”
Finally, he joked, “You can tell your patients you are going to give them the Worst IOL,” referring to the Artisan/Verisyse lens developed by Jan Worst, MD.