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No surgery is risk-free, it’s just that some are riskier than others, same as in LASIK vs IOL. LASIK surgery is done at the exterior part of the eye i.e. cornea, while the IOL is a lens placed in the interior part of the eye. Both of them are different from each other, however, IOL poses more risk factors. Cost is a major factor as IOL surgery costs more than LASIK surgery. Several problems do occur when surgery is performed inside the eye.
The choice for spec removal, usually named as refractive surgery, is the safest and efficient way to obtain clear vision. The choices can broadly be classified into two classes. They are LASIK- laser vision correction, including Advanced Surface Ablations and IOL (Intraocular Lenses) – phakic IOLs and CLE.
All refractive systems can obtain 20/20 vision without the requirement for glasses or contact lenses, harmlessly and efficiently. Refractive surgery completely satisfies people’s eye state and optical needs. Picking the refractive surgery precisely is the initial step to get better vision without glasses. The surgery is performed by an Ophthalmologist. They do an eye examination and then suggest the right one for you.
Before differentiating the LASIK surgery and IOL. Let’s have an overview of both the refractive surgeries.
LASIK stands for laser in-situ keratomileusis. It is a popular surgery used to correct vision in people who have problems of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The LASIK surgery helps in reshaping the cornea to allow light entering the eye to be correctly focused onto the retina for sharper vision.
LASIK surgery is pain-free and takes only around 15 minutes for both eye surgeries. The outcomes of surgery are corrected vision without eyeglasses or contact lenses. Vision normally proceeds to improve and stabilize over a few days.
The IOL is intraocular lenses that are medical devices implanted inside the eye to replace the natural lens of the eye when it is eliminated during cataract surgery. IOLs also are applied for a kind of vision correction surgery called refractive lens exchange. An intraocular lens implanted in the eye as a section of surgery to fixcataracts or myopia. They are an artificial lens that is adjusted inside the eye. The lens is placed between the iris and the natural crystalline lens called phakic IOL. Either is placed in the space formed after eliminating the natural lens of the eye called clear lens extraction (CLE).
From an overview, it’s clear that both of them are different one is surgery and the other is a lens placed duringcataract surgery.
| IOLs | LASIK Surgery |
| Can correct the high degrees of ametropia | Can correct the hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism |
| It takes time to recover procedure | Quick recovery, rare chance of discomfort, and is a non-reversible procedure |
| Suitable for dry eye and thin corneas | More dry eyes and face difficulty in driving at night |
| High postoperative astigmatism | Easily correct the problem of astigmatism |
| It needs intraocular surgery and is a non-foldable model. | No need for Intraocular surgery and has foldable models |
The table easily shows a great difference in LASIK vs IOL in short tabular format. Now further let’s discuss these points in detail.
The IOL is a much more invasive process than LASIK surgery, there are many major risk factors in IOL surgery over LASIK. The risk factors of IOL include infection, bleeding, and even retinal detachment.
Secondary minor risks after lens implantation involve the sensation of a foreign body in the eye, dryness and, night vision difficulties such as glare and halos. With multifocal IOLs, many patients still need specific distance, medium reading glasses to clear their vision.
The following patients are counted suitable for LASIK- having a level of correction over 6 to 8 dioptres depending on corneal thickness, thin corneas, previous corneal scars or surgeries, corneal grafts, keratoconus, etc.
ICL can improve very huge levels of myopia that is up to 20 dioptres with few limitations.
Cataracts are a complete contraindication for LASIK and IOLs while Refractive lens exchange is the process of option for patients with quick cataractous changes. RLE is named cataract surgery with IOL implantation when done in a patient with a visually significant cataract.
The time need for both surgeries is the same. The minor difference LASIK on both eyes is done together, while some surgeons are in favor to do lens implants on different days. The LASIK laser treatment takes only 15 minutes as it’s done together. Whereas, in lens implants, it takes about 20-30 minutes per eye. Normally, the surgeries for both eyes are done about a week gap.
The time for vision recovery and follow-up visits scheduled for both cases are almost the same.
Lens implants are usually more costly than LASIK. It is because the IOL procedure is more invasive and needs longer time to perform. It is the extra cost of the lens implant which makes the procedure expensive. LASIK is less expensive in comparison to IOLs and has introduced some new alternatives of LASIK including femtosecond LASIK and Relex SMILE. For the medical purpose, you can easily take a personal loan or medical loan so that you can get the services of the best eye hospital in Delhi.
For patients with low to medium refractive error and no associated eye injury or eye diseases, LASIK is the surgery of choice. RLE or lens implants can correct about any degree of refractive error, and the kind of vision after lens implants is said to be more reliable than that after LASIK.
That said, RLE normally is performed only if the patient is not a proper candidate for any other vision correction surgeries like LASIK. For patients with early cataracts, RLE is the best option as lens implants. IOLs are the most suitable option for patients of steady keratoconus and patients post corneal surgeries.
Conclusion
After understanding the difference between LASIK vs IOL it’s clear that both are surgeries that help in vision correction. As patients are of different types and face different symptoms so it’s clear both of them are recommended. It all depends on a complete eye exam and health evaluation. Your eye surgeon will prescribe the best type of surgery for you. Both of them have a difference but are best recommended for correcting the vision.
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We have the best eye hospital in Delhi which gives LASIK surgery service and also ICL surgery for correcting the vision.
If you are feeling strain, redness, blurred vision. Book an appointment with Eyemantra right now. Let the experts examine your eyes and look after which surgery is suitable for your eyes. Even you can ring us at +91-9711115191 for booking appointments or email at eyemantra1@gmail.com.
We have the exclusive and advanced equipment to treat the eyes. If you are facing another eye disease we do offer various services such as Retina Surgery,Cataract Surgery,and Specs Removal.
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