Certain IOL types have been in use and well tolerated for twenty years or more, thus the procedure and the IOL devices are safe and effective. In general, phakic IOLs are reserved for patients in whom LASIK or LASEK vision correction alone would...

be contraindicated. This is not always the case and sometimes patients and surgeons opt for phakic intraocular lens placement initially. As more surgeons become familiar and comfortable with this procedure in phakic eyes, it may be offered to patients more frequently.

 

Phakic IOLs are used more often to treat severe myopia (nearsightedness) than hyperopia (farsightedness) for a couple of reasons. Implantable lenses were pioneered in nearsighted patients and adapted for farsighted patients, so there is more experience in treating that type of refractive error. Because of the way light is bent in each of the respective vision disturbances, intraocular lenses are better suited to correcting nearsightedness. The use of implantable lenses is actually more common in aphakic individuals, i.e. those without a natural lens. The myopic phakic lens procedure is more akin to surgery on aphakic individuals.