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CEENTA ophthalmologist Dr. Kashyap Kansupada appeared on WCNC's Charlotte Today on August 12, 2021 to discuss refractive lens exchange surgery.
Eugene Robinson: If you're having vision trouble, glasses or contact lenses may help. Now many people also consider laser eye surgeries to improve their sight, but there is another option as well. Here to tell us more about refractive lens surgery is Dr. Kashyap Kansupada with Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates. Hello, doc. Welcome to the show, how you doing?
Dr. Kashyap Kansupada: Thank you, Eugene. Thanks for having me on the show again.
Eugene: Okay what is refractive lens implant surgery?
Dr. Kansupada: Refractive lens implant surgery is where we replace a natural lens inside the eye with a customized new lens implant to reduce dependency on glasses. There are two new implants I'm going to share with you today that expand the visual freedom of these patients, primarily folks who are above the age of 50 because these folks tend to have some varying degrees of cloudiness of their lens also called a cataract. We have an image that shows the implant, you can see at the bottom, it's below the pupil, and you have these arms on it to keep the lens implant in place. so that's what the implant looks like.
Eugene: Alright, well how does it compare to laser vision correction surgery like LASIK? Everybody knows about LASIK, how does this compare?
Dr. Kansupada: Great question! Yeah, because both of them reduce dependency on glasses, laser vision correction reshapes what we already have and it's primarily for those folks who are less than 50 years of age because they don't have a cataract and they still have some range of vision up close that allow them to see up close. Now for those people above the age of 50, if you can have that next image come up, on the top image you'll see that they were progressively losing their ability to see up close. Things far away may be clear, but things up close or blurry. With reflective lens exchange and refractive lens implant surgery, it restores the range of vision allowing people to see far away and up close and everything in between, like that image that was up there below it at the bottom.
Eugene: Now what technologies are available for patients in the area?
Dr. Kansupada: Previous technologies that we had, the Restore the Symfony, and the Panoptix, allowed an impressive number of patients - 70-80 percent - did not require any glasses at all. the new Synergy lens implant, as shown in the image on the left, raises that bar to 90 percent that don't require any glasses for near or far or anything in between, which means of course that 10 still do, and this is primarily for healthy patients. The image on the right is the new Vivid lens implant that's primarily used for folks who have mild eye conditions of the cornea, the retina, and the optic nerve, and allows a range of vision that they previously had no options before.
Eugene: So, is a laser used with the refractive lens surgery?
Dr. Kansupada: Great questions, yes and so there's traditional and there's laser assisted lens implant surgery where traditionally I use a blade to do the various steps in the procedure, something I'm very comfortable doing. Laser assisted cataract lens implant surgery does all those same steps without the blades, but more importantly is very precise in treating the astigmatism, resulting in a sharper vision.
Eugene: Who would be a great candidate for this surgery?
Dr. Kansupada: Yeah, so pretty much anyone above the age of 50. They don't have any significant eye conditions or normal healthy eyes or if they have mild eye diseases like we talked about a moment ago, they would all be candidates
Eugene: So how long does a refractive surgery last?
Dr. Kansupada: Great question, so the surgery itself is outpatient. It takes about five minutes. If you opt for the laser assisted version, add another five minutes. The benefits, however, last a lifetime.
Eugene: So here, what should a patient expect post op for refractive lens surgery?
Dr. Kansupada: Most people are back to normal activities and have clear vision by the next day. Some people may notice rings around point lights, and headlights in this night scene that you'll see here. Most people find it's an acceptable compromise for not needing glasses and a fraction of what they had before from the cataract itself. This does improve at times just like a fine wine does.
Eugene: Well Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates has multiple locations in the Charlotte area, including Belmont and Huntersville. For online scheduling visit we justmakesense.com, wejustmakesense.com. Doctor, thank you very much sir.
Dr. Kansupada: Thank you for having me Eugene, always a pleasure.
Schedule your next eye appointment with Dr. Kansupada at our Belmont or Huntersville office today.
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