What problems have been encountered with ICLs?

There is a small but unavoidable risk of infection but this is minimized by the full sterile theatre conditions. There is also a small possibility of damage to the structure of the eye, which could lead to cataracts, glaucoma, retinal complications, corneal decomposition and rejection.

Severely short-sighted people often have other eye problems such as damaged retinas and progressively deteriorating eyesight. The ICL cannot help or stop these associated conditions. In the event of complications, lens implants are potentially reversible

No procedure can be risk-free. Ultimately, the patient needs to make up their mind about the risk/benefit balance for the various options available to them to correct their high myopia or high hyperopia. Some patients need surgical correction of their severe focus error for safety reasons. Theoretically, the proximity of the ICL to the iris and lens raises the possibility of late onset lens opacities or pigment dispersion. Both these rare but potential problems (occurred in 0.4% patients in the FDA Study Group) are much more easily fixed than corneal complications following LASIK surgery. Current evidence supports ICLs as being a very effective and safe option for these patients.

The Implantable Contact Lens is designed to be placed in your eye and remain there permanently, but with increasing age if you develop a cataract significant enough to cause visual problems, then cataract removal with intraocular lens implantation can be done with removal of the ICL.