What are Visian ICL lenses?

Visian ICL lens inserts are highly biocompatible lenses that are positioned behind the irises to reduce moderate to severe myopia (nearsightedness). They are manufactured from Collamer and cause no reaction in the eyes. Collamer also contains a filter for providing protection from ultraviolet rays of light.

How long have Visian ICL lenses been available?

Visian ICL lenses were researched and developed over 13 years in Europe. They are now available in the US as well. In fact, more than 50,000 people have now been fitted with them.

Do Visian ICL lenses eliminate the need for eye glasses and contact lenses?

That depends on the severity of an individual’s nearsightedness. Most patients have a 95-99% reduction of overall prescription. Some patients will wear a light pair of glasses for driving or reading. These lenses can correct -3.00 to -16.00 diopters of myopia (nearsightedness).

How long can Visian ICL lenses be worn?

Visian ICL lenses are intended for permanency and maintenance-free performance. They are inserted behind the irises in the posterior chamber, in front of the natural lenses. They cannot be detected by others. If your vision changes over time, or other procedures become necessary, Visian ICL lenses can be easily removed, changed and/or reinserted.

Is the procedure for inserting Visian ICL lenses complicated?

Visian lenses are inserted on an outpatient basis and each eye can be completed in roughly 15 minutes. The procedure is minimally invasive and has very few post-operative complications associated. Also, little discomfort is reported from patients. Eye drops and case-dependent medications will be prescribed. A follow-up visit is required the day after the procedure. In addition, most patients report that they cannot even feel the lenses after placement.

Visian ICL permanent lenses provide a cost-effective way to alleviate the moderate to severe vision impairment symptoms associated with keratoconus.

Learn more at: www.GetICL.com

I, Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, was in Vancouver last Thursday for the Olympic press conference with the United States Men’s Bobsled team.  “Why would an eye surgeon be attending an Olympic press conference?” is probably going through your mind.  No, I didn’t give up my day job to join the U.S. Bobsled team.  Patient Steve Holcomb and his story has become one of the most miraculous stories in the Olympics.  

Steve is the driver of the U.S. Bobsled team’s top sled called “The Night Train”.  He became legally blind two years ago due to a degenerative cornea condition called Keratoconus which just about forced him to retire and give up the sport.  The U.S. Olympic Committee and the Bobsled team refused to let him give up.  That’s when they discovered me.  I had the honor of helping Steve over his keratoconus condition with C3-R along with corrective lens implants.  C3-R saved Steve’s eyesight.  

Steve then went on to win the World Bobsled Championship gold– a U.S. first in 50 years.  

There lies the reason for me being part of the press conference last week.  There were plenty of TV crews and journalists.  

To see the full details about Steve’s miracle story, please click: www.BoxerWachler.com  

In 10  days, Steve and the Night Train will be going for Gold.  I will be there cheering for Steve and will be posting updates on this blog and tweeting at www.twitter.com/drboxerwachler

The Visian ICL is a treatment for anyone wanting improvement of their vision. It can correct a wide variety of vision problems. The treatment is simple and is made with a special material called collamer.

The lens is bio-compatible which means it will not breakdown over time and can remain in the eye indefinitely. The Visian ICL requires no maintenance and is easy to remove if necessary.

The Visian ICL can give significant immediate results in the improvement of your vision. The procedure only takes about 30 minutes and is painless. The recovery time is relatively quick and the implanting of the lens does no permanent alteration to your eye so it can be removed with a simple procedure if needed.

But don’t take our word for it listen to Mia & Tracy’s story:

Mia Saddler-

Mia was tired of the constant hassle of her glasses and contact lens. She wanted to have an improved quality of vision without extensive hassles. She saw Dr. Boxer Wachler and spoke to him about her eye care to find that he felt the Visian ICL would be her best choice.

Mia stated during the procedure the:

                                “Staff was attentive to my needs”

Her recovery was quick:

                             “The recovery time was the rest of the day”

Mia has had:

                       “No problems with my vision since the ICL Procedure”

OR listen to Tracy: Who has used contact lenses since she was 18 about 20 years.

Tracy says her procedure:

                           “Lasted no more than about 25 minutes”

and that she:

           “hasn’t seen like this since she was a little kid, it was absolutely amazing!”

The Visian ICL is truly a wonderful procedure. If you are interested in finding out more information on this great procedure you can hear these testimonials and more for yourself at: http://www.boxerwachler.com take it from Mia:

                     “At the end of the day it’s worth it!”

www.boxerwachler.com/facebook 

https://twitter.com/DrBoxerWachler

Many of us argue with ourselves on having procedures done to our eyes. Quite frankly the thought of getting surgery of any kind on our eyes does not sound so appealing. But the truth of the matter is over the course of the last 20 years many advancements in technologies have allowed vision correction procedures to be minimal to non-invasive and take little to no time to heal. This means not only will you receive the benefits but in most cases it won’t interfere with your daily schedule- and who could ask for anything better than that.

David Bonifanti can tell you from his experience that the Visian ICL is worth all the risk. He studied and researched these procedures for 15 years before meeting Dr. Boxer Wachler.

He said:

“I researched this doctor for a long time and I was comfortable with Dr. Boxer Wachler.”

He knew Dr. Boxer Wachler for about 4 to 5 years before he decided to get the treatment of the Visian ICL. Though the doctor knew of its benefits he understood David’s concern and respected his choice to wait.

In fact David liked his results so much after three months he had to tell his story.

Dr. Boxer Wachler still says:

Quote:

“Visian ICL can correct vision better than glasses and contact lens.”

The Visian ICL:

The Visian ICL is a small implant that is placed behind the iris. The lens will fold out after it is placed in position. The overall procedure takes between 15 and 30 minutes. The patient is given numbing medications and there is no pain during the procedure.

To find out more about the Visian ICL procedure visit: http://www.iclinformation.com

To view a free webinar visit: http://www.FixesYourKeratoconus.com

Now you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter:
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Olympic Bobsledder- Steven Holcomb has a lot to say about Dr. Boxer Wachler in this article from USA Today Written by Tim Reynolds…

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Olympic bobsledder Steven Holcomb was speeding down the icy track for a preseason training run a few weeks ago, when a piece of duct tape tore off the chassis and whizzed past his helmet. His teammates weren’t bothered. They’d seen it happen dozens of times. Holcomb, though, was spooked. Until then, he’d never seen that before.

In a sport that demands razor-sharp hand-eye coordination, Holcomb excels even with a degenerative eye disease called keratoconus that makes reading a challenge - say nothing for steering a bobsled in a snowstorm. “Sometimes, I really didn’t see all that much out there,” he said.

Given his success, that’s hard to believe. Holcomb is a national champion, a World Cup star and was the top American driver at the 2006 Turin Olympics. He navigates slippery tracks at 80 mph in a sport where tiny mistakes can lead to disaster. Yet he did all that with vision so blurry that he couldn’t read the big “E” atop an eye chart from more than 6 feet away. A $15,000 procedure may have saved Holcomb’s vision - plus could nudge him closer to Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010.

“If he was in the top five in the world before, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s soon to be the top in the world,” said Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler of Beverly Hills, Calif., the corneal surgeon who developed the procedure that Holcomb underwent, Holcomb would love to see that.

Keratoconus causes the cornea to bulge outward, causing blurred vision. In some mild cases, glasses or contacts can be the answer. In Holcomb’s case, neither did the trick. Lasik didn’t work, either; Holcomb tried that in 2000, but was back in glasses within a year. So after last season, he decided he’d either find a solution or retire.

“They couldn’t make contacts strong enough for me anymore,” Holcomb said. “And since it’s a progressive disease, I had to get a new prescription, a stronger prescription, every three months. Finally they said, ‘You know, we can’t make them any stronger.’ So it was the end. For a while, I thought it was the end.”

U.S. bobsled coach Brian Shimer didn’t want to see that happen. He researched options, found Boxer Wachler, and sent Holcomb to California to meet the doctor. Holcomb was deemed a candidate for Visian ICL, or Implantable Collamer Lens, a 9-minute surgery where a contact is embedded behind the iris. It’s permanent, and so far, it’s worked for Holcomb.

His vision, once as bad as 20-1000 - which gets defined as “profound visual impairment” - is now close to perfect. He sees things on tracks that he never knew were there before.

“I was part of the FDA approval study for it,” Holcomb said. “I couldn’t wear contacts the day of the surgery, so they literally had to walk me around the room. And then they did it, I got up, and just like that, I was 20-20. It’s incredible. I call it an eye-opening experience.” Pun intended, of course.

Holcomb didn’t just suffer from keratoconus, but also was extremely nearsighted. So Boxer Wachler - who has performed similar procedures before live on national television, plus has worked with other athletes, most notably Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Derek Fisher - began the process by having Holcomb undergo what’s called C3-R, something that strengthens the anchors within the cornea and minimizes the bulging effect.

It’s relatively new technology and isn’t offered by many eye doctors yet. Boxer Wachler is considered the pioneer in this sort of work. “We’ve been doing this for five years,” Boxer Wachler said. “It’s not experimental for us. We call it an off-label procedure.”

But because of the costs involved, Holcomb almost decided not to undergo any procedure. Holcomb isn’t a rich man, by any stretch of the imagination. Bobsledders don’t get into their sport for money; it’s rare to find a sled that turns a profit at the end of a season, no matter how many races a team wins in a given year. The technology is costly, the perks are few, and when Holcomb was told how much Visian ICL would cost, he initially balked at going forward.

“It was every amount of prize money I’d ever won,” Holcomb said. “So the U.S. Bobsled Federation stepped up and donated, and the U.S. Olympic Committee stepped up and donated, and now I hope they can collect on it.” That shouldn’t be a problem.

When the World Cup season starts in Germany in a few weeks, Holcomb will be among the favorites once again. He ended last season ranked fourth among drivers in two- and four-man bobsled, and now with his vision no longer a stressful issue, he can’t see any reason why he shouldn’t improve on the track.

“Now that I can see, things are starting to click,” Holcomb said. “I already could feel out there on the track. It’s like putting a face to a name now. My eyes don’t hurt. My head doesn’t hurt. Before, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even play catch before. Someone would throw me something and it’d hit me in the face. Now I can focus on what’s important out there.”

To learn more and watch and education  vision on Keratoconus visit: www.FixesYourKC.com

Staar Surgical Company–

It is not only important to ensure that you have the right surgeon in your corner. It is equally important to know what tools they are using. Why is that so important you ask? Simply because even if you have the best doctor in the country; if his tools are of poor quality it will not be as effective. Just ask Staar Surgical Company.

Staar Surgical Company was founded in 1982 and are now one of the leading Surgical product manufacturers for Corrective Devices in the world. Their product line is not just put out and forgotten. Staar makes it a point to put out only the best Surgical technology. They re-create and are constantly improve their products. Through research and lots of creativity Staar Surgical Company is able to not only create the device but also create the material some of their products is made of!

Their latest work of art? Collamer—this lovely material is used throughout the affinity Line. Which gives more durability to their lenses as well as creating a natural lens improving the quality of vision and bio-compatibility with the use of their lenses.

So by now you are probably asking yourself what products do they make? Well below are just a few of these fine products produced by Staar Surgical Company:

Aquaflow Collagen Glaucoma Drainage Device

STAAR Silicone IOLs

Visian TICL (Toric Implantable Collamer Lens)

Visian ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens)

The Art of any surgical procedure is not only about the artists but his tools and how he uses them. STAAR Surgical Company is truly a remarkable place. Its people are continuing to bring technology to our doctors to give the most accurate and convenient care. As well as improve our surgical experience. To learn more about STAAR Surgical Company you can visit their website at: http://www.starr.com.

There are many improvements in medical technology’s today allowing us to improve our quality of vision. Lasik has been a great gift to many however on that is moving up in the ranks is Visian ICL. This is also known as a Phakic Intraocular lens or an Implantable lens or Insertable Contact Lens. The Visian ICL was created by Staar Surgical company to help improve the quality of vision in patients with myopia nearsightedness; with or without Astigmatism.

These nifty little lenses are beneficial to us because they give us a much clearer view of the world and are bio-compatible with our eyes. The Visian ICL isn’t designed to sit in front of the natural lenses to enhance the quality of our vision producing a better picture.

Some benefits of the Visian ICL are:

Better Quality of Vision-

The Visian ICL is made of a special material which gives the patient a better quality of vision. It is also more durable them most ICL’s. Many patients refer to having HD (High Definition) vision after this procedure; everything is remarkable clear and crisp and often clearer than what they saw with the contacts or glasses.

Small Entry Site-

The Visian ICL is foldable allowing the surgeon to make a small entry site in the cornea, which is less than half the size of most ICL’s entry sites and it doesn’t require sutures.

Removable-

The Visian ICL’s are removable in case the patient suffers vision changes over the years or over/under correction occurs.

Safety-

The procedure requires small entry to insert the lens, which makes the procedure less invasive compared to other ICL procedures.

This procedure is becoming more and more common in the world of corrective surgery. The STAAR Surgical Company continues to improve their techniques and technologies. Though in the end the decision is up to you. If you are interested in learning more on the Visian ICL visit ICL information.

One of the best characteristics of the Visian ICL procedure is the fact that the actual lens is made from a material called Collamer.  Vision ICL is the only eye implant that is made from this material, which makes it truly unique when compared to other types of implants.   In order to better understand the benefits to using Visian ICL, it is helpful to first gain a better understanding of the composition of this lens.

Understanding the Collamer Composition

The Collamer used in Visian ICL is actually a special type of co-polymer collagen.  In fact, the word “Collamer” is created by combining the words “Collagen” and “Co-polymer.”  In scientific terms, the material is created by bonding collagen with a special chromophore that is capable of absorbing UV light.  Once bonded, the materials form a poly-HEMA based co-polymer.

Since Collamer is made entirely from the collagen co-polymer, it is biocompatible with the eye and is capable of providing a very high level of optical performance.  It is also easy to implant in the eye because it can be folded and it unfolds easily once it is inserted.  As a result, only a very small incision has to be made.  This means no sutures are needed and the incision is able to heal quickly.

The Benefits of Visian ICL

Aside from the fact that implanting Visian ICL is a relatively simple procedure, there are several other benefits associated with this Collamer lens.

One of the benefits to using Visian ICL is the fact that Collamer is able to transmit light in a manner that is very similar to the eye’s lens.  This is because Collamer is almost identical in composition to the crystalline lens found in the human eye.

Collamer also has a built-in anti-reflective interface, which is caused by the fact that 40% of the Visian ICL lens is actually made from water. Due to the higher water concentration, it gradually changes the refractive index from the aqueous to the lens.  Since the light patterns created with the Visian ICL are almost the same as the natural lens, less light is reflected and potentially helps reduce dysphotopsias.

Since Visian ICL is made from collagen, it is able to attract fibronectin after the implant has been inserted.  Fibronectin is found naturally in the eye, so having a layer of this substance form around the lens helps to prevent white cell adhesion to the lens.  This means the body does not look at the lens as a foreign object and it is able to remain unnoticed by the body.

The Visian ICL lens also remains free from protein build-up because the Collamer contains a slight negative iconic charge.  Since protein also has a negative charge, the two repel each other and protein is unable to adhere to the surface of the lens.  This means vision remains clear and crisp indefinitely, unless an actual change to the eye occurs.

The Collamer used in Visian ICL is truly unique.  With the help of these unique characteristics, it provides a superior means for improving the vision of those that qualify for the procedure.

Are you considering getting Visian ICL in order to correct your vision?  If so, you are likely to be very pleased with the results.  At the same time, you should understand the benefits of the procedure and know for certain whether or not you are a suitable candidate before you start looking at having Visian ICL performed to improve your vision.

Why the Visian ICL Procedure is a Good Choice for Vision Correction

There are many advantages to using the Visian ICL procedure to correct your vision.  Namely, the procedure helps most people gain freedom from their glasses by improving visual acuity and helping to make the vision sharper.  In addition to improved vision, the Visian ICL procedure also offers benefits such as:

• Only requiring a small incision, which means no sutures are required and healing time is fast
• The lens is inserted in the posterior chamber of the eye, which makes it invisible
• It is made from Collamer, which is biocompatible with the eye

To date, the Visian ICL implants have been placed in over 60,000 eyes around the world. It also has a proven track record of success, having been used to help improve the vision of others for the past 15 years.

What Makes for a Good ICL Candidate?

In order to be considered a good candidate for Visian ICL, you should:

• Be between the ages of 21 and 45.
• Not be pregnant
• Not have allergies to the medication that is used during the procedure
• Not have health problems that may cause complication
• Have enough eye tissue density and a proper anterior chamber depth, which can be determined with an eye examination
• Not have experienced changes to your eyeglass prescription of more than 0.5 over the past year

Most people that meet these criteria will be eligible for the Visian ICL procedure.  Whether you are farsighted or nearsighted and whether or not you have astigmatism does not affect your eligibility for Visian ICL.  Even if you have severe myopia of up to a -20D prescription, you can still be eligible so long as you have an only minor case of astigmatism.  It should be noted, however, that the Visian Toric ICL is currently under review with the FDA and is capable of correcting myopia that is accompanied by astigmatism.

The Visian ICL procedure is also a good alternative for people that are no candidates for LASIK surgery because their cornea is too thin or because they suffer from dry eyes.  It should not be looked at as only an alternative for those that are not eligible for LASIK, however, as Visian ICL is a much safer choice that does not create a permanent change to the eye.  For that reason, even individuals that may qualify for the LASIK procedure may wish to use the Visian ICL procedure instead.

The Visian ICL procedure can help literally thousands of people enjoy better vision.  With its fast recovery time, excellent results, and lack of permanent change to the eye, it is clearly a great choice for anyone looking to finally say goodbye to their glasses.