My ICL Experience: A Patient’s Journey to Clear Vision

I always wanted clear vision, but with a family history of eye issues, I wasn’t sure of my options. I needed someone to tell me what would be best for my eye health and vision outcomes. That’s when I learned about implantable collamer lens (ICL) surgery from ICON Eyecare. Here is my experience with ICL.

What Is ICL Eye Surgery?

ICL surgery is an alternative to laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) eye surgery for people with thin corneas or dry eyes and moderate to severe myopia (nearsightedness), with or without astigmatism. A flexible biocompatible collamer lens called an EVO ICL™ that contains plastic and collagen, a natural protein in the eye, is inserted through a small corneal incision and placed between the eye’s natural lens and the iris. It works with the natural lens to refract light on the retina to correct your vision; there’s no need to reshape the cornea or remove corneal tissue like in other laser vision correction procedures, such as LASIK or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

My ICL Consultation

Before I went to ICON Eyecare, I had a consultation elsewhere that I felt was rushed and confusing; I was still trying to figure out my vision correction options. That’s when I found Dr. Kim, one of the first ophthalmologists in the U.S. to be EVO ICL certified, at ICON Eyecare. After the initial scans of my eyes, it was clear to the doctors that I was not a LASIK candidate and that LASIK would not provide the outcomes I was looking for. It gave me so much confidence to have an eye surgeon give their professional opinion rather than simply promote one service like LASIK that wasn’t necessarily right for me. She performed several advanced tests using the latest technology — ArcScan’s Insight^® 100 — to confirm my ICL candidacy. I felt like she went above and beyond to ensure this was the best option for me and that my eye measurements were precise to ensure I received the appropriate ICL size. She answered all my questions, including those about costs and payment options, calmed any fears, and got me really excited about ICL.

The ICL Surgery Experience

Everything about my ICL procedure went better than I expected — before, during, and after. Although I was excited about the anticipation of 20/20 vision, I was still nervous about the surgery. The preoperative staff was friendly and quickly calmed my nerves. The team administered anesthetic eye drops to numb my eyes and gave me medication to help me relax.  Dr. Kim talked to me throughout the entire procedure, which was even quicker and easier than expected; it went by in a flash. I was in and out of the operating room within an hour, with the procedure taking between 20 and 30 minutes.

Postoperative Care

My follow-up appointments were also better and quicker than expected. My first appointment was only four hours after surgery, which seemed like an extra step to ensure everything looked and felt as it should. I then had postoperative visits the following day, one week later, and one month later. The only side effect I experienced was drowsiness from the medication used during surgery.

My Life After ICL

ICL surgery has significantly improved my quality of life; it’s like I’m seeing an HD picture in my head and was the best decision I could have made. It has been truly life-changing, and I can’t recommend ICON Eyecare enough. Everyone made me feel comfortable and confident in my decision; I knew I was in the right place for my surgery, and the results speak for themselves. If you aren’t sure about vision correction surgery, I recommend scheduling a consultation with an experienced eye doctor. Once you have the surgery, you’ll ask yourself, ‘Why didn’t I do this a long time ago?’.