Visian® ICL™
Implantable Contact Lens

At Mitchell & Morin Eye Institute, lens implants such as the Visian® ICL™ Implantable Collamer Lens also called an implantable contact lens, may be an option for patients who have been told that they are not good candidates for laser eye surgery, but who still wish to reduce or eliminate their dependence on contact lenses or glasses. John Mitchell, M.D. is a recognized top eye surgeon for Visian® ICL™ in DC Metro, Maryland, and Virginia, and may be able to provide you with the opportunity to achieve your vision correction goals even with high degrees of nearsightedness and astigmatism.

Lens Implant Surgery, using Phakic Lens Implants, leave the natural crystalline lens in place and insert a tin lens in front of your natural lens. This allows your vision to be corrected almost as if we were implanting a contact lens. If you are extremely nearsighted and have been told that you are not a candidate for laser eye surgery such as LASIK, Dr. Mitchell may recommend Visian® ICL™ to correct your vision.

The Visian® ICL™ is a soft gel-like lens made from “Collamer”, a unique, highly biocompatible organic lens material designed specifically for the Visian® ICL™. It is foldable and only requires a tiny incision that is so small it doesn’t require sutures and allows for a quick, comfortable recovery. Although Visian® ICL™ is meant to stay in your eyes indefinitely, if your eye changes or if you have over correction or under correction that changes your vision, the Visian® ICL™ can be removed or exchanged. Dr. Mitchell will provide you with the comfort and confidence necessary to make a sound decision when choosing the best type of vision correction procedure for you.

Who is a Visian® ICL™ Candidate?

Generally, patients who are in their mid-20s to 45 years old and who are between -3.00 Diopters and -20.00 Diopters of nearsightedness. Also, patients who are not good LASIK candidates because:

  • insufficient corneal thickness for full correction by the excimer laser
  • the cornea is too flat to allow full correction by the excimer laser
  • prescription is -7.00 Diopters or above regardless of corneal thickness
  • dry eye patients
What is the Visian® ICL™ procedure?

The ICL is a brief outpatient surgical procedure performed in an operating room under sterile conditions. You will have the procedure performed in the morning and will be re-examined in the early afternoon of the same day. Most patients will already be able to see a dramatic improvement before they leave the surgery center. Dr. Mitchell will personally perform your consultation and surgery and will insist on an extensive discussion with you to determine if you are a candidate for this procedure. Dr. Mitchell is very excited about this technology and began implanting the ICL domestically as soon as it became FDA-approved. Our results have been outstanding and the visual quality is superior to LASIK for higher prescriptions. See if you are a candidate! Please book a complimentary “vision correction consultation” with Dr. Mitchell.

Dr. Mitchell performs all the different types of vision correction surgery, so he can tailor his recommendations to what is best for you personally, instead of limiting the evaluation and discussion to just one procedure.

STARR Certified Surgeon Seal

EVO ICL Procedure Animation

EVO Visian Animated Surgical Procedure

TESTIMONIALS

September 2019 – “Dr. Mitchell performed my ICL surgery in September 2018 and, of course, it changed my life. Not only can I see wonderfully without the use of glasses/contacts, but the ICL procedure was instrumental in allowing me to submit my application for the US Navy. Dr. Mitchell was highly recommended by my optometrist and a Lasik office in the area. He was thorough in explaining the steps required for the surgery. In addition, he is a very nice person and I was proud to inform him on my one year follow-up that I was selected to be a United States Naval Officer!”

– Stormie Alsruhe

March, 2014 – Molly Jones had LASIK surgery on her right eye, and ICL surgery on her left eye performed by Dr. John Mitchell. Here is her story and her direct comparison of both procedures

February, 2013 – “For anyone looking into Lasik or Visian ICL surgery, I would HIGHLY recommend going to the Mitchell Eye Institute. I got the Visian ICL surgery done last Monday because I didn’t qualify for Lasik and was referred to the Mitchell Eye Institute for a Visian ICL consultation. Getting the surgery done was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I wish more people were aware of the Visian ICL procedure because of how great my experience has been.I’ve never seen this well before in my life, and have achieved 20/20 vision in the week since the surgery. Another huge benefit was that I was able to quickly get back in to my normal routine at work and at the gym. I also felt safe, calm, and well educated throughout the entire process due to John D Mitchell and his staff.I definitely recommend that more people look in to the Visian ICL procedure! This surgery went way beyond my expectations!”

 – Krissy Zapf

Eve Torres Gracie

Jennifer Puno

Phil Torres