RxSight ™ Light Adjustable Lens, the first and only intraocular lens that enables ophthalmologists to customize a cataract patient’s vision after surgery, is now offered at Willis-Knighton Health System. Christopher L. Shelby, MD, and Wyche T. Coleman, III, MD, at WK Eye Institute, and Norman A. Zaffater, Jr., MD, at Zaffater Eye Center offer the revolutionary technology to qualified candidates, who have a unique ability to design their desired visual outcome.

The Light Adjustable Lens is made of a special photosensitive material that changes the shape and power of the implanted lens in response to ultraviolet light. The physician works with the patient, customizing the patient’s vision through a series of noninvasive light treatments that take only a few minutes each over the course of several weeks. The postsurgical adjustment of the implanted lens begins once eyes are healed, approximately four weeks after surgery. Patients are able to “test drive” their vision after each adjustment for about a week before deciding on their final vision. Fine tuning of both near (reading) vision and distance (driving) vision is done prior to permanently stabilizing the lens.

“RxSight’s Light Adjustable Lens (LAL)  allows ophthalmologists to give patients more precise vision than ever before,” Dr. Zaffater says. “With the Light Adjustable Lens, physicians have the opportunity to give patients customized vision for their specific visual needs. This includes clear vision for distance and near without the need for contact lenses or glasses. This lens implant also provides superior vision at night and in other low light conditions with no haloes, starbursting or glare.”

Cataract surgery is the most performed procedure in the United States. About 50% of Americans will develop cataracts by age 75, a percentage that is projected to increase as life expectancies continue to rise. Cataracts form when the proteins and fibers in the eye’s natural lens begin to break down, causing hazy or cloudy vision. Their formation can accelerate due to radiation exposure, steroid use, diabetes, and eye trauma. They are the leading cause of preventable blindness.