Mind & Body

A generation looking for a better solution

Demand from the growing presbyopic generation has driven technological advances in eye surgery to find a way of returning our eyesight virtually to youthful perfection.

Implantable contact lens treatment is helping to banish reading glasses and is fast becoming the preferred option for the over 50s.

“After the age of around 40 it’s natural for our close vision to deteriorate but it still comes as a nasty surprise to most and is an unwelcome reminder that we aren’t as young as we were,” says AVC surgeon Dr Goran Helgason, who has had ICL treatment himself. “But we can now help this age group achieve excellent vision for both distance and near sight with a range of implantable contact lens treatments - all the benefits of bifocal glasses but without having to actually wear a pair.”

Rather than changing the shape of the cornea, as with laser eye surgery, ICLs are permanent miniature contact lenses that are surgically inserted into the eye to enhance the natural focusing ability. They are completely invisible and have the added advantage that they can be removed and altered in the future should eyesight change in later life.

ICLs provide excellent quality of vision for a wide range of prescriptions from -25 (shortsighted) to +12 (longsighted), with specialist toric lenses also available to correct astigmatism up to 5.00D.

Particularly suitable for patients aged around 45 and over is clear lens exchange (CLE), a form of ICL treatment that involves removing the natural lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. This is the same procedure as for cataract surgery so having CLE treatment earlier in life pre-empts the likelihood of needing this very common procedure later in life.

Harley Street refractive eye surgery clinic AVC is now the UK leader in ICL treatment, carrying out more procedures than any other clinic.

“The fact that the procedure is reversible and that no tissue is removed seems to particularly appeal to patients. No stitches are needed and the 2mm incision in the cornea is self-sealing. Because we only use anaesthetic drops rather than injections the procedure is painless and quick, recovery time is swift and the superior results are virtually immediate.”

Advanced Vision Care

Located in the heart of London’s medical centre of excellence, AVC is one of the UK’s leading independent corrective eye surgery clinics. Medical director and AVC founder Mr CT Pillai is a pioneering refractive surgeon with over 20 years experience and has performed more than 20,000 procedures.

Since 2002 AVC has grown from an expert laser clinic to being one of the few clinics in the UK that offers a wide range of treatments for those unsuitable for laser. AVC is the now UK leader in ICL (implantable contact lens) treatment, a highly advanced alternative to laser that is ideal for those with high prescriptions and complex eye conditions. Other treatments available include clear lens exchange, piggy-back lens exchange, cataract surgery, advanced wavefront zyoptic technology, kerataconus, cross-linking and INTACS.

The AVC surgical team includes internationally-recognised refractive surgeons Dr Goran Helgason and Professor Martin Filipec, who regularly train and educate their fellow surgeons all over the world.

More information

Advanced Vision Care
77 Harley Street, London W1G 8QN

Tel: 020 7935 7497
www.advancedvisioncare.co.uk