What are the advantages of undergoing a cataract surgery / RLE surgery in Poland?

The greatest advantage after the cataract removal surgery / refractive lens replacement is that your overall vision should be significantly improved. You will see clearer; colours will appear sharper, and your ability to see at night will increase. In more than 90 percent of cases, the patient’s vision is greatly enhanced. You will be able to skip glasses thanks to the great trifocal lens – PanOptix by Alcon.

b) About the cataract removal surgery procedure / About RLE refractive Lens Exchange Surgery Abroad

Cataract is a state when the lens inside your eye becomes less transparent. The lens is the crystalline structure that sits just behind your pupil, which is the black circle in the centre of your eye. During the lens replacement surgery in Poland, the lens inside your eye that has become cloudy/ unclear is removed and replaced with an artificial one to acquire back a clear vision. Most modern cataract procedures involve the use of a high-frequency ultrasound device that breaks up the unclear lens into small pieces, which are then removed from the eye with suction. The most common and safe method is called “Phacoemulsification”.
The replacement lens is called an intraocular implant, or intraocular lens (IOL).
There are three types of lenses available:

• Fixed strength (monofocal) lenses –which are set for one level of vision, usually distance vision
• Multifocal lenses – which can be set at two or more different strengths, such as near and distance vision
• Accommodating lenses – which allow the eye to focus on both near and distant objects in a similar way to a natural lens. Using this kind of lenses can potentially reduce the chances of needing reading glasses after surgery.

There are also advanced technology lenses which allow correcting astigmatism, which has the UV filter and blue light filter. If planning to undergo a cataract surgery abroad we offer a wide range of multifocal and monofocal lenses (also with the correction of astigmatism).

If you suffer from presbyopia, and willing to improve a quality of living by becoming glasses-free the RLE (refractive lens replacement) procedure is the choice for you. A natural lens is painlessly removed and replaced by a new artificial Alcon PanOptix IOL trifocal lens implant to restore your vision. The surgery is performed in local anaesthesia and takes only about 15 minutes per eye.

c) Lens replacement surgery in Poland – Treatment Schedule

RLE and cataracts surgery usually takes about 30 minutes. It is carried out under local anaesthesia, meaning you will be awake during the procedure. The procedure is painless. Sometimes the doctor will give you some calming pills. If you have cataracts in both eyes, the surgeries could be performed in both eyes during one stay in Poland, to save your time and money.
The surgery starts with applying a local anaesthesia in the form of eye drops. Your eye will be disinfected. Then the surgeon will proceed the main part of the surgery, after placing a new lens in your eye you will have your eye dressed in a bandage for a couple of hours.

d) Cataract surgery abroad / RLE – potential side effects 

What are the risks of undergoing a cataract surgery? What is the risk of RLE refractive lens replacement surgery?

As lens replacement surgery is an often performed and well-known procedure, our doctor – Dr Adamczyk – Ludyga is a great specialist (also a lecturer and speaker on lens replacement courses for other eye-surgeons) the complications are very rare – occures in less than 0,1% of cases.

After surgery, you will probably experience a mild pain around your eye, blurred vision, itchy eye or discomfort when looking at bright lights. You may wear sunglasses to reduce sensitiveness. Depending on the kind of lens implant you may need to wear glasses for short and long distance vision after the surgery because some artificial lens implants cannot focus on a range of different distances. We encourage to choose the new lens deliberately, as is a lifelong choice. The best technologically advanced lenses have special filters, correct presbyopia, and you don’t need to use glasses anymore. The main problem that can occur is a condition called PCO – posterior capsule opacification – a cloudy vision that reappears. It is not a cataract returning, but a skin membrane was growing over the back of the artificial lens. Less than 1 out of 10 patients after cataract surgery will eventually develop PCO within 2 years. If it happens, you will need to undergo laser surgery to correct it. Some lenses are made of special material which is less likely to occur PCO.

e) Cataract eye lens replacement surgery abroad / Refractive Lens Exchange – Full Recovery Time

After the surgery, you will need to avoid strenuous activities (lifting heavy objects), touching your eye, wearing make up for one week, swimming for two weeks, touching or rubbing your eye. It’s usually necessary to wait several weeks for your vision to settle down before an optometrist can give you a new glasses prescription.