The EVO ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens) is a lens implant, which is capable of correcting/reducing moderate to severe amounts of nearsightedness and astigmatism (ranging from –3.0 D to –20.0 D), which is well beyond the treatment range of LASIK (up to -12.0 D of nearsightedness and 4.0 D of astigmatism). The soft, flexible nature of the ICL allows it to be inserted through a self-sealing micro-opening that measures only ~3 millimeters. The EVO ICL is designed to stay permanently, but it could be removed or updated, if necessary. The lens is made of a material called Collamer, which filters ultraviolet light and is very well-tolerated within the eye.
The U.S. FDA approved the original EVO ICL in 2005 after reviewing the long term data since 1995. In the FDA clinical studies, 526 eyes underwent the lens implant procedure, averaging -10 D of preoperative nearsightedness. Three years after the procedure, nearly 95% of patients had “20/40 vision or better” without glasses, which is good enough to pass the DMV test (4). These are remarkably good results considering the extremely high level of nearsightedness that was treated. The EVO ICL is the most updated version of the ICL, which has evolved to become safer than the original version.
Lens implants/inserts have been used for over half a century in various forms of eye surgery, such as cataract surgery. With the EVO ICL, the eye’s natural lens is left in place. The lens implant procedure is done as an outpatient procedure, under topical eye drop anesthesia. Most patients experience little to no discomfort during the actual procedure, which takes about 15-20 minutes. Most patients report a nearly instantaneous improvement in their vision within hours, similar to LASIK.
In the FDA clinical studies, 93.6% of patients (averaging -12.6 D nearsightedness) saw “20/40 or better” without glasses one year after the procedure. At three years after the procedure, 92% of patients had uncorrected vision of “20/40 or better”, and 61.7% were seeing “20/25 or better” without any glasses (1). In a recent study published in the scientific journal Ophthalmology, for the treatment of extreme nearsightedness (between – 9.00D and –19.50D), 72.2% of patients who received underwent lens implants in one eye and LASIK in the other preferred the vision in the lens implant eye over the LASIK eye because of the better quality of vision (3)
EVO ICL helps nearsighted people be able to simply wake up & see!
Other Benefits of the EVO ICL
