This year in January Steve Holcomb had undergone a vision correction treatment that restored is vision. With his uncanny talent in bobsledding few knew of the troubles Steve suffered out there on the track. However his sight had become such a problem the extraordinarily talented athlete thought of throwing in the towel and retiring. In one last effort to help himself a few organizations pitched in an assisted the athlete in getting the experimental procedures done. His response to the procedures?

Quote from USA Today:

“I could instantly see clearly. It’s an amazing feeling”

- Says a pleased Steve Holcomb

Now with the 2010 Olympic Games coming up the athlete is back and stronger than ever. Holcomb entered the Bobsled World Championships on Friday in New York. His vision is almost perfect a far cry from his vision early last year at 20/1000 which for those of you that don’t know is quite poor -noted by doctors as profoundly poor in fact.

In further quotes Steve Holcomb states:

“Its life in high-definition”

His team was not aware of how bad Holcomb’s vision was until recently but says that he worked more off instinct than vision anyway. And Steve is more confident and amped about his vision than ever, no longer worrying about the constant hassle of his contacts and view life in a whole new way…as for the 2010 Olympics will just have to wait and see!

Read the USA Today Article:  http://www.boxerwachler.com/usatoday/index.htm

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Dealing with vision can be difficult and if you are a person who is required to wear glasses or contact lenses it can be down right frustrating. There are several things that we can do to correct our vision or make it a little easier on a day to day basis. Many eye surgeons are faced with frustrating decisions on a regular basis of paths of treatment for their patients. Finding the best ways to improve the patients vision as well as give them a satisfying non-invasive treatment is no piece of cake.

First you should find an eye doctor or surgeon you are comfortable with. The area of the eyes is quite sensitive to several people and it is important that the doctor you choose is understanding, and will listen to their patients.

Available Treatments:

Visian ICL-

The Visian ICL is a implanted Collamer lens that was designed by the Staar Surgical Company. They designed an implantable contact lens that forms to your specific vision needs. These Contact lenses are special because they do not need maintenance but additionally they are made of Collamer a special material that makes them life like and making them bio-compatible, which means they are safe for a lifetime. Some of the benefits of Visian ICL are they provide high quality vision (like an HD TV screen), a small entry site is used to insert the lens, they are removable in the event that your vision changes, and they are more durable than other ICL’s.

Lasik Surgery-

Lasik Surgery is a benefit to those with mild to moderate nearsightedness, some degrees of farsightedness, and varying degrees of astigmatism. It is become more and more of a trend and surgeons are moving much further along is improving this treatment. Some patients are using the new “Wave front Lasik” which provides the doctor with a guided hand in the procedure. Through use of a computer doctors can now pin-point exactly where the irregularities are patient by patient making the procedure much more efficient and can provide a better quality of vision.

INTACS-

INTACS are small insertable lenses that have no maintenance. The use of INTACS are often for those suffering from Keratoconus or mild nearsightedness. INTACS cause no permanent changes or damage to your eyes; if your vision changes or you no longer want these inserts they can be removed. So many find this treatment helpful. The importance of them being removable are nice for those who suffer with Keratoconus. As it gives them more options later down the road.

INTACS with C3-R-

Many patients are also using the technique of INTACS with C3-R which allows patients with Keratoconus to benefit more from the INTACS treatment. The C3-R treatment has been found to stop the progression of keratoconus within 3 to 4 months.

Though these are just a few of the great benefits available to those looking into vision correction you can see there is a wide variety. Choosing which method is best for you is up to you and your doctor.

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.