At Juliette Eye Institute, Dr. Melendez offers patients of all ages eye care services. Your eye health and vision should always be a priority, no matter how old you are.
Age 20 – 40
If you are between 20 and 40 years old and need vision correction, you’ve probably been wearing glasses or contact lenses for most of your life.
You are undoubtedly frustrated by dealing with glasses during sports or outdoor activities. On the other hand, contacts can be uncomfortable and require daily maintenance.
There are significant ongoing costs for either option.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to enjoy sports and outdoor activities like hiking, swimming, and biking without glasses or contacts? How about driving, recognizing people’s faces from a distance, or reading the alarm clock?
Have you ever considered elective vision correction surgery? Juliette Eye Institute has several excellent treatment options that patients describe as life-changing!
LASIK is an elective procedure that corrects your vision by reshaping the cornea with a laser. This allows the light to focus directly on the retina, producing clear vision. Millions of people have successfully had LASIK in the last two decades.
How is LASIK performed?
Dr. Melendez uses a method that is blade-free and painless. First, he will use a femtosecond laser to create a hinged flap in the cornea.
After using an excimer laser to reshape the cornea, he will reposition the flap over the treated area and apply antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops.
The entire procedure takes less than 15 minutes. Patients recover within a day, and the results are mostly immediate.
Am I a Good Candidate for LASIK?
LASIK treats nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK can significantly reduce their dependency on glasses or contacts.
Suitable LASIK candidates are not nursing or pregnant, are at least 18 years old, do not have thin corneas, have had a stable prescription for the last year, have healthy eyes, and are in good overall health.
The only way to know if you are a good candidate for LASIK is to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor for evaluation.
The Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) is a clear implantable lens that is placed between the cornea and the iris.
In some ways a Visian ICL functions like a contact lens, but it is intended to be permanent. The Visian ICL is an excellent alternative to LASIK for patients with moderate to severe nearsightedness.
The lens is placed within the eye rather than on the cornea like a contact lens. The Visian ICL also filters UV light.
There is no daily care involved, and there are no ongoing costs. Patient satisfaction rates are very high.
ZEISS SMILE (small incision lenticule extraction) is the latest advancement in laser surgery.
Approved by the FDA in 2016, it is as effective and safe as LASIK. ZEISS SMILE is used for nearsightedness and astigmatism. Unlike LASIK, it does not improve farsightedness.
An advantage of ZEISS SMILE over LASIK is that it requires only a small incision and does not require the creation of a flap. Recovery is fast, and there are no restrictions during recovery.
Dr. Melendez uses a femtosecond laser to create a thin contact lens-shaped layer directly below the cornea’s surface. He then removes the layer through a tiny opening, and the surrounding tissues heal together. The procedure is fast and painless.
Age 40 – 50
The most common vision problem that most people aged 40-50 encounter is presbyopia. Presbyopia is an age-related condition in which the eyes gradually lose their ability to focus on nearby objects.
Symptoms usually begin with blurred vision. People notice themselves squinting to see clearly or holding objects farther away from their eyes for more clarity.
Some patients may notice that they require better lighting, especially when reading at night. Eventually, many people are unable to read their phone or a newspaper at arm’s length without the help of reading glasses.
The most common solution to presbyopia is “readers” or magnifying glasses.
Some people keep readers in every room of their house, in their car, purses, and jacket pockets.
A Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) procedure is similar to cataract surgery. RLE involves replacing the eye’s healthy lens with a clear artificial lens (IOL). There are a variety of IOLs that correct different vision problems.
One great advantage of the refractive lens exchange is that it prevents you from developing cataracts (cloudy lenses) later on in your life. Your implants cannot get cataracts because they are synthetic.
Age 50 – 70
The most common vision problem for patients in this age group is age-related cataracts. They develop slowly after age 40 and occur in more than half of Americans by age 80.
A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens that is a natural process of aging. Cataracts can occur in one or both eyes.
Some common symptoms of cataracts include blurry vision, faded colors, and glare or haloes around the sun or headlights.
Surgery is the only treatment option for cataracts. At Juliette Eye Institute, we recommend cataract surgery when patients feel that a cataract is interfering with their job, driving, or quality of life.
How Is Cataract Surgery Done?
Before the procedure begins, your cataract surgeon will give you numbing eye drops. After instilling the eye drops, your surgeon will create a small incision near the edge of the cornea.
At Juliette Eye Institute, we offer laser cataract surgery. Laser cataract surgery is more precise and leads to better results for patients.
After creating the incision, your cataract surgeon will remove the clouded natural lens from your eye and replace it with a clear artificial one. Usually, no stitches are required, and the tiny incisions close by themselves.
Laser Cataract Surgery
Dr. Melendez utilizes advanced cataract surgery technology to achieve the best possible results for his patients:
- The LenSx femtosecond laser allows him to perform bladeless procedures by utilizing the precision of a laser to make incisions near the cornea.
- ORA with VerifEye+ (Optiwave Refractive Analysis): This system monitors the patient’s eye during cataract surgery to provide real-time measurements that help him accurately customize the patient’s vision.
Types of Intraocular Lenses:
There are several types of intraocular lenses (IOLs) that can help you achieve different vision goals.
Monofocal lenses are the only ones that are covered for insurance reimbursement for cataract surgery. Premium lenses, or IOLs with enhanced vision capacity, are often an out-of-pocket cost to the patient.
Many patients feel that the improved vision and quality of life offered by premium IOLs are well worth the cost.
Monofocal IOLs
Monofocal IOLs are the most common type of lenses used in cataract surgery. They can provide for focus at one distance: distance, intermediate, or near vision. Most people choose distance vision and then use reading glasses when needed.
Multifocal IOLs
Multifocal IOLs contain zones that provide for both distance and near vision. The brain learns to select for the focus it needs.
Toric IOLs
Toric IOLs are used to correct the refractive error caused by astigmatism.
PanOptix Trifocal IOLs
PanOptix trifocal IOLs are the only lens that contains three separate focus points for near, intermediate, and distance vision.
Light Adjustable Lens
The light adjustable lenses are the only lenses you can customize after cataract surgery.
If you are interested in learning more about which vision correction surgery is right for you, schedule an appointment at Juliette Eye Institute today!