A potentially breakthrough procedure that could help people get their reading vision back has promising results in an on-going FDA study. Dr. Bruce Hensel reports for NBC4 News at 6 p.m. Monday, July 7, 2014.
Reading vision can worsen with age, but a breakthrough two-step lens procedure could potentially cure the often inevitable vision problem.
The lens is part of an FDA study taking place in Southern California with Dr. Kerry Assil leading the study in his Beverly Hills office.
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While nearsightedness or farsightedness can be cured by Lasik surgery, presbyopia requires a change in the eye’s lens.
NBC4 spoke to the first woman to get the procedure, who cannot be named because she is part of the FDA study.
"Within a few hours, I was already starting to be able to see without glasses," she said.
The entire procedure was done in two steps.
In the first step, Assil uses a laser to create a tunnel in the cornea to serve as a pocket for the lens. In the second step, he inserts the lens and places it on top of the cornea.
"At times it was a little bit painful," the woman said. "But it was a very short surgery."
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"To date of all the procedures that I’ve performed to try and compensate for presbyopia," Assil said. "This has been the one treatment that seems to work the best."
The procedure is still experimental and is still being studied, but it may lead the way in reading vision restoration.
