The ICL or Implantable Collamer Lens is a new intraocular lens that can be implanted into the eye without removing the natural lens. This lens is made from a material called Collamer, a collagen co-polymer that contains a small amount of purified collagen. It is stable and biocompatible and it has been used for many years in the lenses implanted during eye surgery. The lens is small, foldable, soft, flexible and moist. Due to the ICL is implanted through a microscopic incision that requires no stitches, it does not alter the natural shape or health of the cornea. It can remain inside the eye indefinitely. If the vision changes significantly, the lens can be further removed. In addition, lens does not affect corneal curvature and damage cornea tissue. While LASIK surgery corrects vision by reshaping the clear front surface of the eye (cornea) with an ultra-precise laser. LASIK or Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis is a surgery that corrects vision by changing the shape of the cornea permanently with an ultra-precise laser. The ICL is an alternative for some patients who are not suitable for LASIK because the cornea is not thick enough to be treated safely with laser eye surgery procedures.

The ICL can treat both short-sightedness (myopia) and astigmatism – a common vision condition that causes blurred vision due to irregularly shape of cornea or sometimes because of the curvature of the lens inside the eye. For short-sightedness, the ICL can be used in patients with -0.50 to -18.00 eyesight. For astigmatism, the lens can treat patients with -0.25 to -6.00 eyesight.