Can I still have myopia surgery when I’m older?

I love playing Frisbee! But there are always glasses that mess up...

Fifty-year-old Mr. Li (pseudonym) came to the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University to treat his eyes with ICL lens implantation. The doctor said that Mr. Li had exceeded the more suitable age range for myopia surgery, but Mr. Li said he still wanted to choose the reversible ICL surgery.

Mr. Li loves Frisbee, but every time he does it, the frame glasses on his face always slip off, affecting his experience and becoming a burden for him. Over time, Mr. Li came up with the idea of ​​correcting his eyes. Mr. Li has 400 degrees of myopia. Two years ago, he went to the park every day to play Frisbee for two hours. He would sweat all over in a few minutes, but the more he sweated, the less the frame glasses on Mr. Li's face obeyed his command. When it came to the critical moment of catching the Frisbee, the glasses fell off and he couldn't see anything. Mr. Li said, "Every time I encounter this situation, I can't wait to take off my frame glasses immediately, but after taking off my frame glasses, I can't even see where the Frisbee is."

So Mr. Li came to the refractive department of the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University for preoperative examination for myopia surgery. Although he was over 50 years old, after a full set of preoperative examinations, the doctor said that Mr. Li's eye condition was suitable for ICL lens implantation. After the doctor conducted a comprehensive and detailed preoperative evaluation and informed him of the risks, Mr. Li still strongly requested to remove his glasses.

Dr. Feng Mei, a member of the Hubei Province Refractive Group of Aier Eye Hospital and a refractive specialist at Wuhan University Aier Eye Hospital, explained: Although the optimal correction age for ICL lens implantation is 21-45 years old, for those under 21 years old, whose diopter is stable and who have a need, some corrections can be made after comprehensive evaluation. If you are over 45 years old and do not have eye problems such as cataracts that affect your vision, you can also get corrections, but you need to consider issues such as presbyopia and cataracts, and make a comprehensive evaluation before deciding whether to correct it.

What is ICL intraocular lens implantation?

ICL artificial lens implantation is to implant a special contact lens in the eye, which can change the angle of light refraction to achieve the purpose of correcting myopia. Simply put, ICL lens can be understood as an "ultra-thin contact lens". ICL implantation surgery is to put the "ultra-thin contact lens" into the eye to restore high-definition vision.

Although the price of ICL lens implant is relatively high, it is worth a lot of money. It will feel less during the operation, will not cause too much burden on the eyes, and can more accurately grasp the degree of the eyes. In addition, it has two major advantages: first, there is no need to cut the cornea, so there is no requirement for corneal thickness; second, it can correct a wider range of myopia, myopia within 1800 degrees, and astigmatism within 600 degrees. If the myopia exceeds 1800 degrees, 1800 degrees can also be corrected by ICL lens implantation. The remaining degree can be corrected by wearing glasses or combined with corneal refractive myopia correction, that is, femtosecond laser and excimer laser correction.

Zhang Qingsong, deputy chief physician, member of the Refractive Subcommittee of the Ophthalmology Committee of the China Association of Non-public Medical Institutions, and director of the Refractive Department of the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei Headquarters), said: The Refractive Department of the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University has more than 10 myopia correction experts. The hospital will customize personalized surgical plans to make the correction journey easier and more reassuring for every myopic patient.