Meet ICL patient Joyce Sison!

Full Size Render 6 768x1024

Meet Joyce Sison who contacted us to help share her story of how the ICL changed her life.

Read her testimony below:

Squinting is a normal routine. I work with multiple computer monitors daily and sometimes with a small laptop. I’m a medical coder by trade, an event planner and a DIY-er on weekends. In my line of work and hobby, accuracy is really really (did I say really?!) important. I can’t miss any details. With a prescription of -7.0 and -5.5, squinting or gluing my face to the computer screen is very normal. I’ve worn glasses since I was 12, and delayed wearing contacts until I was 18. I never liked “poking” my eyeballs to put those contacts in, and I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with my glasses. There’s just too many limitations with both of them, and yet I definitely can’t function without them. I grew tired of dealing with those limitations and lots of people were encouraging me to consider LASIK. I waited a few years and I finally gave in. Lo and behold, I was not a good candidate for LASIK!

Since my prescriptions are high and my cornea was too flat to proceed with LASIK, Dr. Jason Brinton recommended an alternative called ICL. This was the first time I was hearing about ICL. They had to make sure I’m a suitable candidate for, so they had to perform additional examinations. The medical coder inside of me did an in-depth research and even watched videos of actual surgeries. (Yes, I enjoy watching surgical operations! Very Grey’s Anatomy but less dramatic). Dr. Brinton satisfactorily answered all the questions I had on my yellow pad, but when he said it’s definitely removable, I am sold!

Each eye were treated as separate surgeries and were scheduled 2 weeks apart (I believe it’s done this way to avoid infection). I had a pre-op few days prior which consisted of accurate measurement of both eyes for prescription, pressure and thorough evaluation to avoid over-correction, according to Dr. Brinton. I decided to take off work for both surgery days and 1-day post-op to allow my eyes rest given that I work with computers a lot.

The day of the surgery was a breeze. I was treated with eye-numbing drops, antibiotics, betadine and lidocaine gel. Call me paranoid, but it’s really important that I know what they put in my eyes. Both surgeries were done in less than a half hour. Both times, Dr. Brinton walked me through the procedure and tells me the one time that I should expect a slight pressure while listening to some nice background music. There were about a minute of pressure felt during the surgery, which was not bothersome at all to me.

After the procedure, I went home and nap most of the day. I’m not exaggerating, but it was really quick results! I was reading street signs on my way home from surgery. And no, you can’t drive after surgery, but it sure is nice to be able to read those signs! I would not recommend driving at night few days after surgery. I experienced minor sensitivity to light during night-time, but it went away after about a week. The only maintenance after surgery was a week of antibiotic and steroid eye drops 4x a day for each eye. Dr. Brinton and his team were thorough and saw me after each surgeries for 3 post-op: same-day, 1-day and 1-week. I was told to keep my head above my heart (i.e., no bending), no eye makeup for a week and definitely no swimming (beach or pool) for a month. Other than those restrictions, I was definitely free!

I was seeing 20/15 the very next day! I joked around my friends and coworkers who were amazed that I now have “bionic eyes,” thanks to ICL!

I wish I’ve done it sooner, but it’s the best investment and gift I gave to myself as I turn 30 this year.

The ICL is not for everyone, please consult your doctor to see if it’s right for you.

If you would like to share your ICL story please contact Erin at:

ERivera@staar.com

Full Size Render 6 768x1024
Joyce 1

Important Safety Information

The EVO Visian ICL Lens is intended for the correction of moderate to high nearsightedness. EVO Visian ICL and EVO Visian TICL surgery is intended to safely and effectively correct nearsightedness between -3.0 D to -15.0 D, the reduction in nearsightedness up to -20.0 D and treatment of astigmatism from 1.0 D to 4.0 D. If you have nearsightedness within these ranges, EVO Visian ICL surgery may improve your distance vision without eyeglasses or contact lenses. Because the EVO Visian ICL corrects for distance vision, it does not eliminate the need for reading glasses, you may require them at some point, even if you have never worn them before.

Implantation of the EVO Visian ICL is a surgical procedure, and as such, carries potentially serious risks. Please discuss the risks with your eye care professional. Complications, although rare, may include need for additional surgical procedures, inflammation, loss of cells from the back surface of the cornea, increase in eye pressure, and cataracts.

You should NOT have EVO Visian ICL surgery if:

  • Your doctor determines that the shape of your eye is not an appropriate fit for the EVO Visian ICL
  • You are pregnant or nursing
  • You have moderate to severe damage to the optic nerve caused by increased pressure (glaucoma)
  • You do not meet the minimum endothelial cell density for your age at the time of implantation as determined by your eye doctor
  • Your vision is not stable as determined by your eye doctor

Before considering EVO Visian ICL surgery you should have a complete eye examination and talk with your eye care professional about EVO Visian ICL surgery, especially the potential benefits, risks, and complications. You should discuss the time needed for healing after surgery. For additional information with potential benefits, risks and complications please visit DiscoverICL.com.

References

References

1. Packer M. The Implantable Collamer Lens with a central port: review of the literature. Clin Ophthalmol. 2018;12:2427-2438.

2. Martínez-Plaza E, López-Miguel A, López-de la Rosa A, et al. Effect of the EVO+ Visian Phakic Implantable Collamer Lens on Visual Performance and Quality of Vision and Life, Am J Ophthalmol 2021;226:117-125.

3. Packer M. Evaluation of the EVO/EVO+ Sphere and Toric Visian ICL: Six month results from the United States Food and Drug Administration clinical trial. Clinical Ophthalmology. 2022;16:1541-53.

4. Parkhurst GD. A prospective comparison of phakic collamer lenses and wavefront-optimized laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis for correction of myopia. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016;10:1209-1215.

5. Ganesh S, Brar S, Pawar A. Matched population comparison of visual outcomes and patient satisfaction between 3 modalities for the correction of low to moderate myopic astigmatism. Clin Ophthalmol. 2017;11:1253-1263.

6. Naves J.S, Carracedo G, Cacho-Babillo I, Diadenosine nucleotid measurements as dry-eye score in patients after LASIK and ICL surgery. Presented at American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) 2012.

7. Shoja, MR. Besharati, MR. Dry eye after LASIK for myopia: Incidence and risk factors. European Journal of Ophthalmology. 2007; 17(1): pp. 1-6.

8. Lee, Jae Bum et al. Comparison of tear secretion and tear film instability after photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery , Volume 26 , Issue 9 , 1326 - 1331.

9. Parkhurst, G. Psolka, M. Kezirian, G. Phakic intraocular lens implantantion in United States military warfighters: A retrospective analysis of early clinical outcomes of the Visian ICL. J Refract Surg. 2011;27(7):473-481.

*American Refractive Surgery Council

We get it. Decisions like this take time to consider and research. We can help guide your decision with information that's the most relevant to you.

Do you currently wear glasses or contacts?