Treatment Options - Dry
Telescopic Lens Implants A new treatment for macular degeneration and other macular disorders
Dry AMD - About 90% of people with AMD have the dry form of the disease. This is simply wear and tear, with no abnormal vessels present. Traditionally, there has been no effective means of improving vision for this overwhelming majority of sufferers. However, there is now a new and effective treatment for dry AMD that can significantly improve central vision for some people: the IOL-Vip.
IOL-Vip stands for Intra Ocular Lens for visually impaired people. The IOL-Vip system can help patients with ‘dry’ and established ‘wet’ forms of AMD and also patients with other forms of macular disease including macular holes, myopic degeneration and hereditary retinal diseases.
Patients who have had the treatment have recovered some of their abilities to perform daily activities such as reading, as well as watching television, recognising money and sewing.
How it works
IOL-Vip works by placing two lenses in the eye. The first lens is a concave intraocular lens which is placed within the capsular bag, effectively acting as the “eye piece” lens of a telescope; and a convex lens is placed in front of the iris in the anterior chamber, acting as the objective lens in a telescopic system.
Together these lenses act like a Galilean telescope, slightly magnifying the image and diverting it to a healthier part of the retina. This healthy retina takes over the role of the macula and can give the AMD patient significantly improved vision.
Assessment and procedure
Besides a full ophthalmic examination, patients are assessed on a simulator which allows the consultant to select those who are most likely to benefit from the procedure, while at the same time, giving the patient a chance to experience the potential improvement in vision before the operation.
After detailed assessment and discussion, patients choosing to go ahead with the procedure are usually offered surgery for their better seeing eye. The surgery is usually done under local anaesthetic.
The actual procedure is similar to cataract surgery and will only take around 30 minutes. There is no need for an overnight stay in hospital.
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| B08000603 |
