Removing Glasses and Contact Lenses: Surgeries in 2024

Today, it is possible to have sight without lenses in almost all cases, thanks to laser surgery or new lenses that are inserted into the eye.

Which surgery is best for removing glasses depends on the characteristics of the eye and your age.

From the USA comes important news for removing glasses. We present the new operations in detail with the conviction that the desire to remove glasses and contact lenses will find here the best solution for Myopia, Hypermetropia, Astigmatism and Presbyopia.

Removing Glasses between 20 and 45 years of age

In the age group of 20 to 45 years, the procedure for removing spectacles is generally a laser operation with which Myopia, Astigmatism and Hypermetropia can be well corrected. The most suitable laser operations in this age group are: FemtoLASIK, SMILE, PRK.

In very high visual defects, the implantation of phakic lenses such as VISIAN ICL is indicated.

Presbyopia, which is the difficulty of seeing close up without glasses, occurs after the age of 40 and is not corrected well with the laser.

Removing Glasses after 50

The operation to remove spectacles after the age of 50 is no longer with a laser but with the replacement of the crystalline lens with an intraocular lens. The crystalline lens is a lens inside the eye that becomes opaque with age and is then referred to as a cataract. After the age of 50, it can be removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens even if a Cataract has not occurred.

Removing the spectacles means eliminating the defect such as Myopia, Astigmatism, Hypermetropia and also Presbyopia, i.e. the age-related difficulty in reading close up. Presbyopia is due to an ageing of the crystalline lens and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens eliminates the problem forever. There are new, very sophisticated intraocular lenses that allow excellent results without glasses for far and near.

We introduced Hi-tech intraocular lenses in Italy several years ago and have been using EDOF and Trifocal intraocular lenses for several years now, which allow optimal distance and near vision without glasses.

Removing Glasses and Cataracts

Cataract surgery is the possibility today to get rid of distance and near spectacles for good.

A cataract is the opacity of a lens that is located inside the eye and is called the crystalline lens. This lens is transparent at birth and becomes opaque with age. With surgery, the lens is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens.

Today, there are sophisticated intraocular lenses that can correct Myopia, Astigmatism, Hypermetropia and Presbyopia. In our clinic, we have implanted many of the most innovative intraocular lenses from the very beginning. We are among the few centres to use IC-8 intraocular lenses for those undergoing cataract surgery after corneal surgery such as curved keratotomy or LASIK

Those who do not have cataracts can still undergo cataract-like surgery to remove a lens that may still be quite transparent but has aged and is no longer able to focus on close-up details.

Removing Glasses after Cataract Surgery

Patients who continue to wear glasses for distance and/or near vision after cataract surgery now have new opportunities. It is possible to improve vision and remove spectacles even years after cataract surgery.

In 2024, it will be possible to exchange the intraocular lenses implanted with the cataract surgery years earlier for new, more sophisticated intraocular lenses, or more sophisticated lenses can be added in front of the lenses already in the eye and thus glasses can be eliminated for both distance and near vision.

When and why eye surgery should be done

It is advisable to wait until the sight defect is stable to have the operation to remove the glasses. Males begin to have a stable eyesight defect after the age of 22, women often a few years earlier. In any case it is all very subjective, we only operate after a stable defect for at least one or two years. This applies to all defects: myopia, astigmatism, hypermetropia.

Presbyopia continues to worsen with age and is best operated on after the age of 45-50.

Having eye surgery has advantages and risks like anything else.

The main advantages are a higher quality of vision than can be achieved with glasses, the freedom of not having to think about contact lens maintenance and hygiene, swimming, skiing and all kinds of sports without the additional worries of glasses and lenses.

Risks of Eye Surgery

The main risks of eye surgery are infection and failure to fully correct the vision defect.

In order to avoid infection, the ophthalmologist’s instructions should be strictly adhered to and no dirty or animal environments should be used in the days following the operation.

Playing sports is also usually contraindicated for at least 15 days post-surgery.

Even minor trauma after surgery can have serious consequences.