A myopic eye has strong refractive power. Alternatively, you could say it is too long, relatively speaking. In other words, the cornea bends incoming light at too great an angle, making it focus before it gets to the retina. That leaves the light-sensitive retinal cells with less-than-clear image information. They send it on anyway, via the optic nerve to the brain's vision center. The brain has insufficient information to give you a clear image.

Why does a myopic cornea bend light too much for the length of the eye (that is, the distance to the retina)? Because it is too curved. All translucent curved structures bend light rays (the eye's lens is another example). A nearsighted eye is too steeply curved and that is why a LASIK laser can correct it. The laser vaporizes tiny pieces of it to flatten the curvature exactly the right amount for clear vision.

Intacs are an alternative treatment. They are extremely thin, new-moon-shaped, transparent plastic implants. Each cornea receives two, on opposite sides. Their presence changes the cornea's curvature by very slightly raising the periphery. This makes the curvature less steep.

You can't feel them once they're positioned in the cornea. They need no maintenance. They are FDA-approved. They are removable by an ophthalmologist, which makes it a reversible procedure, unlike LASIK, which is permanent. To date they are available only for low degrees of myopia, namely -1 to -3 diopters – however, this takes care of over half of myopic people.

If for some reason you would prefer not to have refractive surgery, or if you have been ruled out as a good candidate for it, Intacs may be an excellent alternative. Please give us a call or send an email to set up your consultation about it.