RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange) or Clear Lens Extraction (CLE)

Introduction

Are you scheduled for cataract surgery but dread the idea of needing glasses or contacts after your hospital-based procedure?

Your wait is over!

Likewise, although laser refractive surgeries like iLASIK are the most widely used alternatives for surgically correcting focusing problems, a procedure known as refractive lensectomy, refractive lens exchange, or clear lens extraction, provides another option.

It is an option for people with very higher levels of nearsightedness or farsightedness and for people who have cataracts but dread the thought of wearing glasses afterwards. In addition, people in their middle years may appreciate the dual advantage of an RLE procedure: Not only will it correct nearsightedness or farsightedness but it also prevents any future need for cataract surgery ever again: a permanent solution!

Unlike other methods of refractive surgery, which alter the shape of the cornea, an RLE changes the focusing power of the lens within the eye. During RLE the eye's natural lens is removed and replaced by a lens implant, which has been selected to compensate for the eye's refractive problems. In effect, the lens implant acts like a permanent contact lens within the eye, but one which can only provide a fixed range of focus rather than multiple ranges of focus.

We offer multi-focal implants not generally available in Canadian hospitals. These lenses use space-aged technology but cost a lot more than those provided free of charge in hospitals: $44 for a hospital implant compared to up to $1400 for an accommodative implant per eye. You have a choice.

Just call us for details. Dr. Bense has performed many thousands of successful implant surgeries since 1986.