Eye surgery (IOL-Vip system)

The IOL-Vip system can improve vision for the majority of people with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD is the commonest cause of blindness in people over the age of 55 in the UK.

Recent developments in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have made it possible to treat the majority of patients with this form of the disease, including intravitreal injections.

It does not cause total blindness. But it can make everyday activities like reading and recognising faces difficult.

Without treatment, your vision may get worse. This can happen gradually over several years ("dry AMD"), or quickly over a few weeks or months ("wet AMD").

The exact cause is unknown. It's been linked to smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight and having a family history of AMD.

90% of AMD sufferers have the dry form of the disease. Traditionally, there has been no effective treatment for Dry AMD, but an exciting new treatment, The IOL- Vip system can improve vision for some people with dry AMD.

The IOL Vip system uses two intraocular lens implants to create a Galilean telescope within the eye.

By implanting two lenses into the eye in this way, a telescopic system is created. It magnifies the image that forms at the back of the eye on the macula making it look bigger.

This uses the same optical principles as those in conventional telescopes and binoculars that we use for ‘zooming’ into distance objects making them look closer and bigger. The IOL VIP system may also help improve vision additionally shifting the image slightly away from the centre of the macula.

Therefore, in patients who have reduced vision due to damage of the central macula, a bigger image being projected to an adjacent area next to the damaged central spot could enable the patient to see smaller objects in the distance more clearly.

_Source:_{https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/2013/01/iol-vip-revolution-lens-implants-report-in-the-daily-telegraph/}