Surgery Offers Lasik Alternative

DETROIT | Patients who have been rejected for popular Lasik refractive surgery have a new option: an implantable lens that promises perfect or near-perfect vision.

On a recent Monday, ophthalmologist Dr. William Goldstein performed the procedure using the Visian Implantable Collamer Lens.

The procedure's biggest drawback is its price. Goldstein charges $3,500 for each eye -nearly double the price of Lasik - and others may charge more. Deemed cosmetic surgery, insurance doesn't cover it.

Six of Goldstein's patients underwent the 20-minute, painless operation.

"It's amazing, I can finally see," said Rhonda Biack, 43, who has been wearing contact lenses or glasses since she was in second grade. She could barely see past her nose.

Biack was turned down for Lasik because her vision was so bad. She was told by Goldstein that the Visian lens "was coming to the States, and you should qualify."

Each year, some 4.5 million Americans undergo Lasik, or Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis. One of the most common elective surgeries in the U.S., it uses a tiny scalpel to lift a thin flap of tissue, followed by quick bursts of a laser to sear away part of the cornea, usually to correct nearsightedness.

As many as one in five patients who want Lasik can't have it because they are extremely near sighted, prone to dry, red eye or have large pupils or thin corneas.

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