There are several different types of phakic intraocular lenses that are used in specific patients and for specific indications. Types of phakic intraocular lenses include iris-supported lenses, posterior chamber lenses and angle-supported lenses....

These differ in terms of where in the front of the eye they are placed and to which structures they are attached. Veriseye and Visian ICL are FDA-approved for the treatment of nearsightedness only. Other phakic intraocular lens types are used in conjunction with clinical trials as part of the FDA approval process.

 

Phakic intraocular lens implantation can be performed under any number of anesthesia types depending on the patient preferences and situation; including topical, intraocular, local, or general. The nerves on the surface of the eye can be deadened by placing anesthetic drops in the eye. Nerve endings to the entire eye can be deadened by injection, but this requires a needle injection very near the eyeball. Many people and surgeons prefer general anesthesia for phakic IOL placement.

 

After adequate anesthesia is administered, the eye is held in place to assure a stable surgical platform. Depending on the type of lens implanted, the phakic IOL is placed through a small incision either in front or behind the colored part of the eye (iris). Some IOL types require thin, self-dissolving sutures to be used to hold the IOL lens in place until the eye can heal around it. Other IOL types unfold behind the iris and are held in place by the constraints of the space itself. These lens types require no sutures to secure the IOL lens. Most times the cornea will not need a suture to close it, either.