Since the start of the corona crisis, mouth masks have become an integral part of our society.
Fogged glasses, dry eyes,… It is very recognizable for wearers of glasses or contact lenses. In the Imelda Hospital in Bonheiden they therefore see an increase of no less than 75% in the implantation of conversion lenses.
An easy and reversible alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses.
“Due to the mouth masks, the glasses easily evaporate and the eyes with contact lenses dry faster, which is why patients opt for the comfort of implanted conversion lenses,” says doctor Karolien Termote, ophthalmologist Imelda Hospital.
Mouthmasks are not a pleasure for anyone, but certainly not for glasses wearers. They often see little through the vaporized glasses. And now let the glasses be the tool of choice that you cannot do without.
It is therefore not surprising that they see an increase of no less than 75% in the implantation of conversion lenses at the Imelda Hospital.
“More and more people come to us for consultations to be able to see better without glasses. Especially now that wearing a mouth mask has become a ‘must’. In addition to the classic eye laser treatment, we often opt, in consultation with the patient, for the implantation of conversion lenses.
This technique has a very short recovery time and has the added advantage of being reversible. The lens can be removed from the eye later if necessary with minor surgery. With this technique there are hardly any pain afterwards.
In addition, there is less dryness of the cornea, which occurs after laser surgery of the cornea,” says doctor Karolien Termote, ophthalmologist and medical head of eye diseases in Imelda.
Patients are wildly enthusiastic about this technique. Patient Nils Van Elewijck (30), who had surgery in Imelda, speaks of a striking difference with the past: “I already have fairly dry eyes and regular lenses were therefore never an option. I didn’t like wearing glasses because I was quite active. am.
Night lenses were the only option in the past. But because this is a bite out of my budget every year and I occasionally dared to forget my night lenses, I went to Dr. Termote for advice. She advised me to have conversion lenses implanted.
And that was the best solution for me. The results are impressive. Everything went smoothly and I could see better straight away. I can do everything again without having to pay attention to contact lenses or glasses.
A striking difference! In a few years I would earn back the lenses and later I can still decide whether the current correction needs to be adjusted, which of course is not possible with a laser treatment.”
A small corrective artificial lens is placed in the eye through a tiny incision at the edge of the cornea. Eye surgeons slide an ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens) into the space between the iris and the eye’s own lens. Thus, they can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.
“The patient chooses whether to operate on both eyes at the same time or one by one. We charge 20 minutes per eye for the procedure. This procedure is performed under local drop anesthesia in our day hospital and the patient only needs to be present for about 4 hours.
Usually the final improved vision is already achieved after 2 days. For follow-up, the patient continues to consult our service on a regular basis,” says Dr Termote.
Correcting with a conversion lens costs between 2,100 and 2,500 euros, depending on the material used. Unfortunately, this surgery is not reimbursed by the health insurance fund.’
– .
