Night Driving Performance: Advantage ICLs over PRK

People considering LASIK may have heard about the possibility of night vision effects, such as halos, star bursts, and other visual artifacts. Impaired night vision is one of the most common complaints people have about LASIK and other refractive surgery procedures. Now, a study has confirmed that another vision correction option gives potentially better night vision results than one type of refractive laser surgery.

A study published in the May 2010 Journal of Refractive Surgery showed that phakic IOLs, sometimes called implantable contact lenses, gave better night vision for driving than PRK.

The study put 42 individuals (20 who had Visian ICLs (Implantable Collamer Lenses) and 22 who had PRK) in driving simulators before and after surgery and compared their preoperative and postoperative recognition and reaction times for street signs and hazards. ICL patients had significantly better improvement in recognizing road and business signs and pedestrian hazards in glare free conditions. In conditions with glare, ICL patients only had significantly better reaction times for pedestrian hazards. The study showed that, overall, patients saw a better than half-second improvement in their reaction times after ICL surgery than before.

Although the study results are significant, one wonders why the researchers decided to compare PRK with ICL rather than LASIK.

To learn more about the full range of vision correction options, please contact the LASIK directory for more information.

Candidate Screening Helps Ensure LASIK Satisfaction

More than 700,000 Americans opt for LASIK surgery each year to correct refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Advances in LASIK technology have made the procedure routine and relatively safe, and the vast majority of LASIK patients are very happy with the results. However, complications do occur from time to time, and there are many people who end up regretting their decision to undergo LASIK.

Sadly, many of these cases could be easily avoided by more thorough screening by the ophthalmologist during the diagnostic process. By making sure a person is an ideal candidate for LASIK, ophthalmologists can severely reduce the instances of poor results and dissatisfied patients.

The most common complications from LASIK include dry eyes and night vision problems, such as halos, glare, or starbursts. Some patients may also experience double vision after their procedure. The instances of these complications could be reduced by screening out poor candidates who have dry eyes, large pupils, or irregularly shaped corneas.

However, there is another factor in determining candidacy for LASIK that has nothing to do with your eyes. A recent study indicates that people who are prone to depression are three times as likely to be dissatisfied with their LASIK results as patients who are less prone to depression. By screening for depression before deciding to perform LASIK on a patient, ophthalmologists can substantially increase the satisfaction rate of their patients.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.