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Ophthalmologist

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Correction of aphakia: optical, intraocular

Alexey Portnov, medical expert
Last reviewed: 17.10.2021

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The main goal of treating visual disorders is partial or complete recovery of visual acuity. Correction of aphakia is carried out by both conservative and surgical methods.

Conservative correction

This method is based on the selection of lenses and glasses. For treatment, glasses with convex lenses are used to give at least 10 diopters. After habituation, patients are prescribed glasses for near, which are several dioptres stronger than the previous ones.

But this method of correction is not suitable for all patients. Its main drawback is the limitation of the field of view and the inability to use glasses in the monocular form of the disease. If the conservative methods of treatment are ineffective, surgical intervention is used.

Surgical correction

This type of treatment involves the implantation of an optical artificial lens. Its strength is calculated with the help of computer programs. There are two types of intraocular lenses implanted in the eye:

Phakic - implantation is carried out without removal of the lens. Used to correct the refraction of light rays.
Afakichnye is the installation of an artificial lens.

Lenses for correction are made of bioinert plastic, that is, a material that the body does not reject. Acrylic, hydrogel, collamer and silicone can be used as a basis. The soft and flexible structure of the material allows the folding of the lens. Also there are lenses with a filter, which protects the eyes from harmful solar radiation.

With the help of contact correction, vision can be improved to 1.0. This method of treatment is not used for allergic reactions and individual intolerance to lens material. With the help of modern methods of treatment of aphakia, doctors can quickly restore the patient's vision and return his habitual way of life.

Methods for correcting aphakia

One of the methods of treating ophthalmic diseases is their correction. Methods of correction of aphakia consist of surgical and conservative methods. For the normalization of vision, the following methods can be used:

Ophthalmic correction is performed by collective lenses + 10.0-12.0 diopters (for reading +3.0 diopters) for the emmetropic eye. This method has a number of disadvantages: the limitation of the field of view, the inability to use the monocular form of the disease, the increase in the retinal image. But despite the shortcomings, this is the most accessible method.
Contact correction - used to correct both monocular and binocular disease. With its help, you can improve your eyesight to 1.0. It is not used at risk of development of infectious complications, residual aniseikonii.
Intraocular correction - used after removal of cataract. Implantation is allowed for patients from the age of two. Advantages of this method is the normalization of the field of view. The distortion of objects is eliminated, and images of normal size are formed on the retina.

The method of correction of aphakia is determined after a complex of diagnostic measures. The ophthalmologist chooses the most optimal and effective way of treatment.

Optical correction of aphakia

Eliminating visual pathology with glasses is an optical correction for aphakia. To create optimal vision conditions, the treatment is aimed at a complete correction of the refractive error. Points are selected based on the results of the refraction study and subjective verification of the tolerance of the correction. This type of therapy is suitable for patients older than 5 years. Patients are assigned glasses for distance, and after them glasses for near, which are 2-3 diopters stronger than the first lenses for distance.

Optical correction of aphakia with unilateral form of the disease is not carried out. This is due to the high risk of aniseikeyoniya and the inability to restore binocular vision. If other methods of eliminating monocular pathology can not be applied, then physiotherapy and training are prescribed to improve vision.

Intraocular correction of aphakia

One of the popular and effective invasive therapeutic methods is intraocular correction of aphakia. Therapy is based on the continuity of correction, but taking into account the growth of the eyeball does not correspond to changes in refraction.

There are several models of intraocular lenses:

Anterior chamber
Rear-chamber

They differ in the way they are fastened:

Anterior chamber fixation (in the region of the iris-corneal angle).
Fixation to the iris.
Mounting to the iris and capsule of the lens (iridocapsular).
Fixation to the capsule of the lens (capsular).

The most popular was the iris-clip-lens Fedorov-Zakharov. Intraocular correction is suitable for both one-sided and two-way aphakia. Recovery of binocular vision is observed in 75-98% of patients.

Implantation of the artificial lens is contraindicated in complex posttraumatic complications and changes in the anterior or posterior parts of the eye, with secondary glaucoma, complicated cataracts, recurrent iridocyclitis.

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