Blurry or worsening vision can make reading, driving, or seeing clearly at a distance increasingly difficult. At Eye MDs of Inland, Dr. Marc Shomer and Dr. Robert Gunzenhauser offer refractive lens exchange to restore your visual freedom. This advanced procedure replaces your natural lens with a premium implant, helping you achieve true freedom from glasses or contacts.
Restore Clear, Natural Vision at Every Distance
Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is a vision correction procedure that can reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses or contacts. It involves replacing your eye’s natural lens with a custom intraocular lens (IOL) that corrects refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or presbyopia. Dr. Shomer and Dr. Gunzenhauser perform this procedure using state-of-the-art technology and precision techniques to deliver lasting clarity, sharper focus, and improved overall vision, especially for patients who are not candidates for LASIK.
What Does Refractive Lens Exchange Treat?
Inside your eye is a clear, flexible lens that helps focus light onto the retina to create sharp vision. Over time, or due to natural variations in eye shape, this lens may no longer focus light properly, leading to blurry or distorted vision. Refractive lens exchange replaces the natural lens with a precisely selected intraocular lens (IOL) to correct these issues and restore clarity.
This procedure can effectively address several common vision problems, including:
- Nearsightedness that causes difficulty seeing distant objects
- Farsightedness that blurs close-up vision
- Astigmatism resulting from an irregularly shaped cornea
- Presbyopia that reduces the ability to focus on near tasks
Benefits of Refractive Lens Exchange
Permanent Vision Correction
Refractive lens exchange replaces your natural lens with a high-quality intraocular lens (IOL) that lasts a lifetime. RLE offers permanent improvement with stable results. Once performed, the need for further lens correction or cataract surgery is virtually eliminated.
Freedom From Glasses or Contacts
RLE reduces or even eliminates your dependence on glasses and contact lenses. With advanced IOLs, you can enjoy clear vision at multiple distances (near, far, and intermediate), helping you engage in daily activities like reading or driving effortlessly.
Prevention of Future Cataracts
Since RLE replaces your natural lens with a clear, artificial one, you’ll never develop cataracts in the future. Patients can look forward to stable, consistently clear vision throughout their life without worrying about cloudy vision or the need for additional surgery later on.
Ideal for Non-LASIK Candidates
For patients with thin corneas, high refractive errors, or age-related presbyopia, RLE serves as a safe and effective alternative to LASIK. The procedure does not reshape the cornea but instead replaces the lens entirely, offering excellent clarity for those unsuitable for LASIK.
How is Refractive Lens Exchange Done?
During refractive lens exchange, your eye’s natural crystalline lens is removed and replaced with a high-precision intraocular lens (IOL) that corrects your vision. After numbing your eye with anesthetic drops, Dr. Shomer or Dr. Gunzenhauser creates a micro-incision near the edge of your cornea. The natural lens is broken into fine particles and suctioned out. The new IOL is then folded, inserted through the incision, and unfolded within the capsular bag, where it remains permanently centered to provide stable, sharp vision.
At Eye MDs of Inland, your treatment is performed in a single-site, physician-owned practice where your vision care is never rushed. You’ll receive detailed explanations at every step, from diagnostic imaging to postoperative guidance, so you fully understand your procedure. Dr. Shomer and Dr. Gunzenhauser create a personalized care plan tailored to your visual goals, ensuring that by the end of your visit, you leave feeling informed, confident, and well cared for.
Your Premium IOL Options
Extended Depth of Focus IOL
These advanced lenses, such as the Symfony® or Vivity®, extend your range of clear vision, allowing smooth focus from far to intermediate distances. They minimize visual gaps and offer high-quality, continuous clarity for driving, reading, and daily tasks.
Monofocal IOL
A monofocal lens provides crisp, high-contrast vision at a single focal point, typically at a distance. It’s ideal for those who want to maintain sharp vision for driving and don’t mind using reading glasses for near tasks. It delivers dependable clarity with minimal visual side effects.
Multifocal IOL
Multifocal lenses, like PanOptix® or Synergy®, feature multiple focusing zones that allow clear vision at near, intermediate, and far distances. They reduce or eliminate the need for glasses, giving you seamless visual freedom in nearly every setting and activity.
Toric IOL
Engineered for patients with astigmatism, Toric IOLs correct irregular corneal curvature for sharper, distortion-free vision. These lenses provide stable, precise focusing power that enhances clarity at all distances, minimizing reliance on prescription eyewear after surgery.
Experience Lasting Visual Freedom
Eye MDs of Inland is led by board-certified ophthalmologists, Dr. Marc Shomer and Dr. Robert Gunzenhauser. Using the latest intraocular lenses, including Symfony®, Vivity®, PanOptix®, and Toric, they tailor every procedure to your unique visual needs. Our personalized, compassionate approach ensures you always feel safe and supported through every stage of your eye care. Schedule your consultation today to learn how refractive lens exchange in Upland, CA, can help you enjoy clear, effortless vision at every distance.
