Intacs Results FAQ
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Intacs general information
ntacs (intrastromal rings) have been FDA approved to treat patients with 1 to 3 diopters of myopia in people who have less than one diopter of myopia. This procedure is an alternative to laser eye surgery such as LASIK or PRK. Intacs are made of plastic and are placed within the cornea. There are 3 available sizes of the plastic ring segments (the 0.25 mm size treats -1.0 to -1.65 D, the 0.30mm size treats -1.75 to -2.25, and the 0.35 mm size treats -2.40 to -3.00). The procedure is performed under topical anesthesia. A specially designed instrument makes 2 channels in the cornea, and 2 segments of curved plastic are placed into the cornea. The segments make the cornea flatter, reducing the amount of myopia.
What about the visual results
The results with this procedure have been excellent. The 12 month results of 410 patients found that 74% had 20/20 vision and 97% had 20/40 vision. This study also found that 50% of patients ended up with vision better than 20/20.
Are these results better than the results with LASIK?
Intacs are only effective for patients with mild myopia (-1.0 to -3.0) and cannot treat astigmatism. LASIK is extremely effective for patients who have this range of myopia. Therefore, the results of intacs are comparable to that of LASIK in this group of patients