RLE


Refractice Lens
Exchange
No More Readers. No More Bifocals. Enjoy Clear Vision at All Distances.
If you’re over 40 and tired of wearing glasses, bifocals or readers, Westlake Eye Specialists, offers Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) that can reduce or eliminate your need for glasses. Whether you’re in Austin, South Austin, New Braunfels, Killeen, Kyle, TX or the surrounding area, our advanced vision correction solutions can help you regain your freedom and clarity.
Introducing Light Adjustable Lens Technology
The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) is a game-changing option for patients at Westlake Eye Specialists undergoing Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). This innovative lens allows for customized vision correction after implantation, giving patients the unique ability to “adjust” their prescription with UV light treatments tailored to their visual needs. The result? Crisp, clear vision that’s perfectly suited to your lifestyle. Discover how the Light Adjustable Lens can enhance your vision and give you the freedom to see your world with stunning clarity.
Learn More About the Light Adjustable Lens by Clicking HERE
Why May RLE Be Better For Me?
Laser procedures such as LASIK get rid of contacts and glasses by correcting your distance vision only. This may be adequate for patients in their 20’s and 30’s who can still read up close without glasses. Once a patient can no longer read without glasses (Presbyopia), RLE becomes the better option because it corrects vision for distance, intermediate, and near using Premium Lens implants.
RLE also removes your natural lens at the time of surgery. This means that you will never develop cataracts in later life!
What If I Can Still Read Up Close Without Glasses?
Depending on your age and prescription, after LASIK, you may lose your ability to read up close or end up needing reading glasses much sooner.
So RLE may still be the better procedure for you. The eye surgeons at Westlake Eye Specialists are happy to help you decide which procedure is better for you.
The Procedure
Millions of eyes have received intraocular lens implants when undergoing cataract surgery, and RLE uses the same highly successful surgical technique:
- RLE is performed as an outpatient surgery.
- Numbing drops to the eye and mild sedation are all that’s needed to undergo the 15-30 minute procedure.
- Micro-incisions are made and require no stitches. The natural lens is replaced by the foldable premium intraocular lens, which spontaneously unfolds into a permanent position.
Technology
At Westlake Eye Specialists, we offer a variety of premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) to cater to your unique visual needs and lifestyle preferences. These advanced lens options are designed to enhance your vision at various distances and reduce dependence on glasses or contact lenses after cataract surgery.
Premium Lens Options:
Monofocal IOLs: Provide clear vision at a single fixed distance (near, intermediate, or far). Patients typically choose distance vision and use reading glasses for near tasks.
Toric IOLs: Specifically designed to correct astigmatism, these lenses offer clear distance vision, reducing the need for glasses for activities like driving. Reading glasses may still be necessary for near tasks.
Multifocal IOLs: Featuring multiple zones with different powers, these lenses allow for clear vision at near, intermediate, and far distances, reducing the need for glasses for most activities.
PanOptix® Trifocal IOL: The first FDA-approved trifocal lens, providing clear vision at three distances—near, intermediate, and far—ideal for activities like reading, computer work, and driving.
Vivity® IOL: Utilizing proprietary X-Wave technology, this lens offers an extended range of vision with minimal visual disturbances, providing excellent distance and intermediate vision, and functional near vision.
Light Adjustable Lens (LAL): The only lens that can be customized after implantation, allowing for personalized adjustments to fine-tune your vision post-surgery.
Arcuate Incisions
Occasionally patients have some degree of corneal astigmatism requiring additional correction. Arcuate Incisions can be made on the surface of the cornea to reduce astigmatism at the same time RLE is performed.
After RLE
Patients go home soon after the procedure to relax for the rest of the day and most resume their normal activities within a day or two. Vision usually recovers within the first few days. RLE is usually performed on the second eye several weeks after the first procedure.
The eye surgeons and Staff of Westlake Eye Specialists always strive to make your entire experience as smooth and informed as possible. Our surgery coordinator and technicians are very knowledgeable regarding RLE and can tend to any of your questions or needs.