48-year-old gets vision back without Lasik
A 48-year-old Sri Lankan, A.S., was suffering from blurry and foggy vision, facing difficulty in reading small prints despite wearing glasses. He also had cataract.
A.S. was diagnosed with an ophthalmological condition — high regular astigmatism — which is an imperfection in the curvature of the cornea. Normally, the cornea and lens are smooth and curved equally in all directions, helping to focus light rays sharply at the back of our eye, forming a clear image. However, if the cornea or lens are not smooth and evenly curved, light rays don’t form a recognisable image.
Dr Amit Jain, specialist ophthalmologist at a hospital in Dubai Investment Park, explains: “It is almost like looking into a fun house mirror in which you appear too tall, too wide or too thin.
“When the cornea has an irregular shape, it is called corneal astigmatism. When the shape of the lens is distorted, you have lenticular astigmatism. As a result of either type of astigmatism, the vision for both near and far objects appears blurry or distorted.
“Since the patient was 48 years old, Lasik — laser vision correction — was not the recommended treatment. Lasik is mostly ideal for the 20-40 age group and also does not give full recovery for near vision.
“The patient was operated for cataract and was put on a special implant from the US, used for the first time in Dubai. PanOptix, the implant is a trifocal lens offering a full range of vision — near, intermediate and distant vision,” he explained.
A.S. said he was thrilled to get rid of his glasses, cataract and astigmatism all in one go and didn’t have to go in for a multi-level conventional surgery. Post-operation, the patient’s vision is good and he is now completely lens-free.