- Medically Reviewed by: Mr Mfazo Hove, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
- Author: Mr Mfazo Hove
- Published: January 2, 2025
- Last Updated: October 13, 2026
TL;DR: For most adults with a stable prescription, the result of ICL surgery stays remarkably steady, but an ICL corrects the prescription you have rather than stopping your eye changing. Some highly short-sighted eyes continue to lengthen slowly and drift further towards short-sightedness over the years. If that happens, it is a natural change in the eye, not a failure of the lens, and it can be measured and managed.
Implantable collamer lens surgery, usually shortened to ICL surgery, corrects your eye as it is. It cannot promise how your eye will grow.
Implantable Collamer Lens Surgery: Long-Term Results
- Eight years, central-port lenses. These lenses have a small central opening that allows fluid to flow through them. The average change in prescription between one month and eight years was −0.13 dioptres, and 93% of eyes remained within one dioptre of the intended prescription. A dioptre is a unit used to measure prescription strength.¹
- Eight years, earlier designs. Long-term follow-up showed good stability, with a small, gradual shift towards short-sightedness in some eyes.²
- Ten and twelve years. Studies extending beyond a decade confirm long-term effectiveness, with modest myopic drift, meaning a gradual shift towards greater short-sightedness, in a proportion of eyes.³ ⁴
- Factors linked to prescription changes. Research has examined which eyes are most likely to drift after ICL implantation, which helps set realistic expectations before surgery.⁵
Prescription Stability Before ICL Surgery
The best predictor of a stable result is a stable eye. We look for a prescription that has not changed meaningfully over recent years before recommending an ICL. Surgery in an eye that is still changing corrects a moving target.
If Your Prescription Changes
If your prescription changes after ICL surgery, the options include:
- Glasses. Small changes often need nothing more than a thin pair of glasses for driving.
- Laser treatment. Larger changes can be corrected with laser treatment on the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye, where it is suitable.
- ICL exchange. Occasionally, the implanted lens can be exchanged to correct the change in prescription.
Our articles explain these options in more detail:
Book a consultant-led ICL surgery consultation with Blue Fin Vision® in London, Hertfordshire, or Essex to discuss prescription stability and your long-term treatment options.
References
- Kamiya K, Shimizu K, Takahashi M, Ando W, Hayakawa H, Shoji N. Eight-year outcomes of implantation of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens with a central port for moderate to high ametropia. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021;8:799078. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.799078.
- Igarashi A, Shimizu K, Kamiya K. Eight-year follow-up of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation for moderate to high myopia. Am J Ophthalmol. 2014;157(3):532-9.e1.
- Nakamura T, Isogai N, Kojima T, Yoshida Y, Sugiyama Y. Posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism: a retrospective 10-year follow-up study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2019;206:1-10. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2019.04.024.
- Moya T, Javaloy J, Montés-Micó R, Beltrán J, Muñoz G, Montalbán R. Implantable collamer lens for myopia: assessment 12 years after implantation. J Refract Surg. 2015;31(8):548-56. doi:10.3928/1081597X-20150727-05.
- Kamiya K, Shimizu K, Igarashi A, Kobashi H. Factors influencing long-term regression after posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation for moderate to high myopia. Am J Ophthalmol. 2014;158(1):179-184.e1. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2014.03.010.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr Mfazo Hove
MBChB MD FRCOphth CertLRS
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon | Founder and Medical Director, Blue Fin Vision®
Mr Mfazo Hove is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with more than two decades of experience across NHS and private practice and more than 57,000 ophthalmic procedures performed. He trained for six and a half years at Moorfields Eye Hospital and served for five years as an NHS consultant at the Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
He specialises in cataract surgery, refractive lens replacement, laser vision correction and implantable Collamer lenses (ICL). He is the founder and Medical Director of Blue Fin Vision®, a private ophthalmology group providing consultant-delivered care across London, Hertfordshire and Essex. His cataract surgery outcomes are publicly reported through the National Ophthalmology Database.
A ZEISS Key Opinion Leader and international speaker, Mr Hove is a contributing author to The Ophthalmologist. His writing examines how clinical governance and the organisation of ophthalmic services shape patients’ experiences and outcomes, with a focus on transparent outcome reporting, surgical training and long-term accountability for patient care.
