Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE)

Clear Lens Extraction (aka: Refractive Lens Exchange)

In some patients who have refractive errors outside the range treatable with LASIK, and that have only mild or no cataract formation, removal of the natural lens of the eye and replacement with an intraocular lens (IOL) may be helpful in reducing their dependence on glasses or contact lenses. This procedure is very similar to cataract surgery that is done for a cloudy lens. The accuracy in obtaining the desired improvement is quite high. In some patients, presbyopia-correcting lenses may be helpful in improving distance, intermediate  and near vision. Some patients may opt for distance vision in both eyes or monovision (one eye set for near vision, and the dominant eye set for distance vision).