Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery in Shreveport & Minden

The surgeons at Lusk Eye Specialists are proud to be the first practice in the ARK-LA-TEX to introduce CLEAR. CLEAR – commonly referred to as ‘Refractive Lens Exchange’ (RLE) – is an acronym for Clear Lens Exchange And Removal and is designed to correct Presbyopia.

Presbyopia is simply part of the eyes’ normal aging process which causes most of us to wear reading glasses by age 40. As we reach our 40s, our eyes begin to lose their ability to focus up close. The Presbyopic aging of our eyes’ natural lenses is actually the beginning of early cataract development.

In the past, the only remedy to Presbyopia was reading glasses. Fortunately, our exciting CLEAR (RLE) procedure allows us to permanently correct your Presbyopia by removing your aging natural lens and exchanging it with a specially designed ‘multi-focal’ lens designed to restore your near vision and give you excellent intermediate and distance vision.

Our goal with CLEAR (RLE) at Lusk Eye Specialists is reduce or eliminate your need for any type of eyewear for the remainder of your life. And the added benefit of having our CLEAR procedure…is that you’ll NEVER need to have cataract surgery.

Our average CLEAR (RLE) patient is in their 50s who currently wears reading glasses or bifocals. An ideal CLEAR candidate will have healthy vision with no other abnormalities or pathology in the eye. Therefore, not everyone is an ideal candidate for CLEAR.

The only way to determine if you are an ideal candidate for CLEAR (RLE) is to schedule a comprehensive eye evaluation where we thoroughly evaluate your entire visual system. This includes advanced diagnostics, special testing and thorough examination of your retina (back portion of your eye).

If you’re having difficulty seeing up close or are already wearing reading glasses, our CLEAR (RLE) procedure may help you enjoy a glasses-free lifestyle to help you not only LOOK better, but SEE better as well.

The Lusk Difference means offering some of the most advanced vision correction options in the industry, performed by a highly experienced team of specialists. Board certified surgeons James E. Lusk, M.D., Bryan E. Lusk, M.D., and Jeffrey D. Lusk, M.D., are some of the most experienced and accomplished eye surgeons in the Ark-La-Tex. CLEAR (RLE) is simply one of the exciting options we that can improve not only the way you see…but also the way you life!

More About Our CLEAR (RLE) Procedure

CLEAR is sometimes to referred to Refractive Lens Exchange or Clear Lens Extraction. In layman’s terms, CLEAR is simply cataract surgery without the presence of a cataract. During the CLEAR procedure, we remove your natural lens, the thin disc of specialized tissue behind the pupil that focuses your vision. We then insert an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) custom-designed to correct your vision issues.

Our premium IOLs can correct a wide variety of refractive vision errors, making CLEAR a better solution for some patients — such as those with presbyopia — than eyewear and other corrective surgeries like LASIK and PRK. CLEAR also comes with low recovery demands, which means most patients can return to their everyday lives the day following their CLEAR procedure.

What Does CLEAR Treat?

The main purpose of CLEAR is to provide patients with better vision using an intraocular lens. CLEAR can improve refractive vision issues, including myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Presbyopia is better treated by CLEAR than most other potential treatments. Presbyopia is a loss of close-up vision, that’s caused by the eye’s natural lens becoming less flexible with age, typically around age 40 or 50. It’s a potential indicator of the onset of cataracts. If you are over age 40, have lost your ability to see up close without reading glasses, and would like to see more clearly across all distances, a multifocal IOL may be your best solution.

While eyewear and LASIK can provide adjustments for the nearby vision lost to presbyopia, CLEAR replaces the less-flexible natural lens, directly correcting the presbyopia. CLEAR is also well-suited to treat some astigmatism which is centered in the lens. It’s also worth noting that IOLs cannot develop cataracts, so having CLEAR means that you won’t have to worry about needing cataract surgery in the future.
Myopia, hyperopia, and some forms of astigmatism are caused by a misshapen cornea — the clear, front layer of the eye, which works with the lens to focus vision. IOLs can counteract these cornea issues from within the eye to make your vision clearer.

What Are the Benefits of Shreveport CLEAR?

CLEAR can be an excellent option for refractive vision correction. In some cases, other eye surgeries like LASIK, PRK, and ICL cannot correct for complex or extreme vision prescriptions. For instance, ICL is great for severe nearsightedness, but not severe farsightedness. The IOLs used during CLEAR can address some issues — like significant farsightedness and presbyopia — better than the alternatives that we also offer.

CLEAR also has the advantage of working inside the eye, rather than on the eye’s surface. A surprising amount of our patients have corneal problems that would disqualify them for other refractive surgeries. Some of these problems include corneal thinning, keratoconus, past injuries and scars, or dry eye. CLEAR may be an option for patients who were turned down for other vision treatments in the past.

Is CLEAR Covered By Insurance or Medicare?

Although the advanced intraocular lenses we use in our CLEAR procedure are approved by both Medicare and the insurance industry, they are not ‘covered.’ Coverage of your CLEAR procedure will also depend on the severity of the lens changes documented during your comprehensive eye evaluation.

To learn more about RLE/CLE, or our advanced IOL options, request an appointment or call us at (318) 378-5594.