This refractive surgery procedure involves the replacement of the patients own clear intaocular lens with a lens implant. This is the same as cataract surgery (exchange of an opaque intraocular lens), and is indicated as the treatment of choice should the already discussed forms of refractive surgery not be applicable.
This is in cases of very high refractive errors such as shortsightedness over -20 and longsightedness over +8 Dioptres.

The CLE operation is primarily carried out under local anaesthesia and has a duration of around a half hour. It consists of 2 steps and the entire operative procedure is carried out using highly specialised surgical instruments.

	In the first step the patients intraocular lens is removed. A 2,8mm peripheral incision is made through which the anterior capsule of the patients intraocular lens is reached and then opened in a circular manner.
	The patients lens is then broken up through ultrasound vibrations (phaco-emulsification) and sucked out under vacuum through this same hole.
	The lens implant is then introduced through this hole and "injected" into the now empty lens capsule.
	The implant is durable enough to last for a life time, and it's refractive power is calculated before the operation by means of precise ultrasound measurements.

Modern surgical lens exchange techniques require that the remaining lens capsule is left in place to provide support for the lens implant. This may in some cases develop fine opacities, which is commonly termed a "secondary cataract" and can then be removed by using the YAG-laser. When carried out by a competent surgeon, complications are fortunately very rare, and when present can in most cases be managed successfully.

Quelle: www.vsdar.de