Refractive Lens Exchange

As much as you might not want to admit it, the vision and health of your eyes will worsen as you get older. While changes in your vision may be manageable with contact lenses and glasses, you may want to ditch these eye accessories for the convenience of a more permanent solution.

The most common procedure that comes to mind for many is often LASIK, but (depending on a variety of health factors) you may or may not be a suitable candidate for it. For those that are not a good fit for LASIK, there are a variety of procedures that may be a better fit. Refractive Lens Exchange or RLE may be an alternative for those who don’t qualify for LASIK.

The Procedure

Refractive lens exchange procedure is really cataract surgery and is one of the most successful procedures performed in medicine today. It is fast, straightforward, painless, and very effective. The entire process takes between 15 – 20 minutes and is performed on an outpatient basis. To perform RLE, your surgeon will apply numbing eye drops that will minimize any discomfort. Each eye must be treated separately one or two weeks apart.

How does it work?

Like cataract surgery, the goal of refractive lens exchange is to replace the natural lens of your eye with something called an artificial intraocular lens.
These lenses come in two categories:

  • Monofocal IOLs improves your vision in the distance without glasses.
  • Multifocal IOLs improves your vision in the distance, interemediate and near without glasses.

What makes a good candidate

The key factors for a good RLE candidate are age and the related health of their existing lenses. Patients in their mid-50s and beyond are often better candidates for RLE than LASIK, as their natural lens has become stiff and lack the ability to autofocus at high levels. When this becomes the case, it makes much more sense to fully replace a lens.

RLE is an effective, long-term solution for vision correction, and is often ideal for those who are not viable candidates for LASIK. Millions of these procedures are done in the United States each year, making it a trusted and common operation with many qualified surgeons across the country. While it is more expensive than LASIK, RLE provides a similar outcome and can provide the same quality-of-life benefits.

Benefits of RLE

Surgery to implant refractive IOLs also offers the following benefits:

  • Quick recovery
  • Doesn’t alter corneal thickness (unlike laser vision correction) and therefore eliminates some potential complications
  • No need for cataract surgery in eye(s) treated with RLE in the future
  • Can correct presbyopia

If you are interested in learning more about RLE or to schedule a consultation, contact us at (503)525-2737 .

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Our Locations

Aloha
18345 SW Alexander St,
Suite A
Aloha, OR 97003
(503) 642-2505 see more
Glisan
6701 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 255-2291 see more
Gresham
24601 SE Stark St.
Suite 245
Troutdale, OR 97060
(503) 255-2291 see more
Hillsboro
6111 NE Cornell Rd
Hillsboro, OR 97124
(503) 846-9400 see more
Lake Oswego
9 Monroe Parkway, Suite 160
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
(503) 636-2551 see more
Milwaukie
11086 SE Oak St
Milwaukie, OR 97222
(503) 656-4221 see more
Mt. Tabor
5935 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97206
503 777-5546 see more
Newberg
2318 Portland Rd, Suite 300
Newberg, OR 97132
(503) 538-1341 see more
North Portland
3246 N. Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 285-1671 see more
Northwest Portland
1955 NW Northrup St
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 227-2020 see more
Oregon City
1306 Division St
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 656-4221 see more
Peterkort
9555 SW Barnes Rd.
#100 (1rst floor)
Portland, OR 97225
(503) 227-2020 see more
Providence Portland
5050 NE Hoyt St., Suite 445
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 231-0166 see more
Providence St. Vincent
9135 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 961
Portland, OR 97225
(503) 292-0848 see more
Southeast Portland
10819 SE Stark St,
Portland, OR 97216
(503) 255-2291 see more
Sunnyside
12050 SE Stevens Rd, Suite 100
Happy Valley, OR 97086
(503) 783-3300 see more
Tigard
15298 SW Royalty Parkway
Tigard OR 97224
(503) 227-2020 see more
Wilsonville
29250 SW Town Center Loop W
Wilsonville, OR 97070
(503) 582-0000 see more
Westside Surgery Center
13240 SW Pacific Hwy
Portland, OR 97223
(503) 639-6571 see more
EyeHealth Eastside Surgery and Laser Center
12050 SE Stevens Rd.
Happy Valley, OR 97086
(971) 206-6100 see more

Our Locations

Aloha
18345 SW Alexander St,
Suite A
Aloha, OR 97003
(503) 642-2505 see more
Glisan
6701 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 255-2291 see more
Gresham
24601 SE Stark St.
Suite 245
Troutdale, OR 97060
(503) 255-2291 see more
Hillsboro
6111 NE Cornell Rd
Hillsboro, OR 97124
(503) 846-9400 see more
Lake Oswego
9 Monroe Parkway, Suite 160
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
(503) 636-2551 see more
Milwaukie
11086 SE Oak St
Milwaukie, OR 97222
(503) 656-4221 see more
Mt. Tabor
5935 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97206
503 777-5546 see more
Newberg
2318 Portland Rd, Suite 300
Newberg, OR 97132
(503) 538-1341 see more
North Portland
3246 N. Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 285-1671 see more
Northwest Portland
1955 NW Northrup St
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 227-2020 see more
Oregon City
1306 Division St
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 656-4221 see more
Peterkort
9555 SW Barnes Rd.
#100 (1rst floor)
Portland, OR 97225
(503) 227-2020 see more
Providence Portland
5050 NE Hoyt St., Suite 445
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 231-0166 see more
Providence St. Vincent
9135 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 961
Portland, OR 97225
(503) 292-0848 see more
Southeast Portland
10819 SE Stark St,
Portland, OR 97216
(503) 255-2291 see more
Sunnyside
12050 SE Stevens Rd, Suite 100
Happy Valley, OR 97086
(503) 783-3300 see more
Tigard
15298 SW Royalty Parkway
Tigard OR 97224
(503) 227-2020 see more
Wilsonville
29250 SW Town Center Loop W
Wilsonville, OR 97070
(503) 582-0000 see more
Surgery Centers

Westside Surgery Center

13240 SW Pacific Hwy
Portland, OR 97223
(503) 639-6571 see more

EyeHealth Eastside Surgery and Laser Center

12050 SE Stevens Rd.
Happy Valley, OR 97086
(971) 206-6100 see more