Presbyopia Treatment
Suffering from Near Vision Loss? Frustrated with Reading Glasses?
As our eyes begin to age, the natural lens within the eye gradually becomes hard and loses its flexibility. The process of losing near vision is called presbyopia, which most people do not notice until after age 40. The first symptom is a loss of the ability to focus on near objects. Presbyopia will affect everyone in the population and results in the need for reading glasses to be able to see things up close such as mobile phones, labels, computer screens and newspapers.
How does the Raindrop Inlay Treat Presbyopia?
As time passes, the lens becomes harder making it more difficult to focus up close. Many of us begin holding our phones further away to see, however, eventually reading glasses will become required.
The Raindrop Near Vision Inlay is a clear device made of hydrogel material and resembles a tiny contact lens smaller than the eye of a needle. It is indicated for patients 41 to 65 years old who are unable to focus clearly on near objects or small print and need reading glasses.
To implant the device, Dr. Dougherty will create a flap in the cornea of the patients non-dominant eye. The raindrop will be placed on the cornea and then the flap is laid back into position. The inlay provides a steeper surface that can help the eye focus on near objects. By reshaping the curvature of the cornea, the inlay improves near vision without significantly decreasing distance vision.
Dougherty Laser Vision was the first in California to implant the Raindrop Presbyopic Corneal Inlay in 2012 and was the leading enroller for the FDA Study on the West Coast. After two years of implantation in the national study, a high percentage of patients included in the study were able to see with 20/25 or better at near without correction with the inlay implanted eye. The implant is reversible and cannot be seen in the eye.
With our patients who chose to use the Raindrop Presbyopic Corneal Inlay, we say the following results:
- 92% of patients had uncorrected near vision of 20/25 or better
- 95% of patients had uncorrected intermediate (computer vision) of 20/25 or better
If you have any specific questions about the Raindrop Corneal Inlay please feel free to call us at 805-987-5300 or contact us.