Surgical compensation of presbyopia with a corneal inlay implantation

An ideal intrastromal implant for the management of presbyopia should possess the following characteristics: thin, small diameter, high nutrient and fluid permeability, and should be implanted relatively deep in the stroma of the cornea. From the data currently available, the KAMRA corneal inlay (AcuFocus Inc., Irvine, California, USA) seems to meet these suggested requirements. Mid- and long-term studies support the efficacy and safety of this inlay for the treatment of presbyopia, with published data up to 4 years.²

Since gaining the CE-certificate in 2005, refractive surgeons can implant this corneal inlay outside of clinical trials on a commercial basis, whereas the technique is still under investigation in US FDA clinical trials for the treatment of near-plano and plano presbyopia. Designed to increase the depth of focus - based on the principle of small-aperture optics - the corneal inlay is supposed to improve uncorrected near and intermediate vision while minimally affecting distance vision. A significant advantage of the corneal inlay procedure is its potential for removability.