I had issues with dry eyes and wasn’t a good option for lasik, so I had EVO Visian Implantable Collamer Lens surgery 2 years ago. Was $3500 per eye so $7000 total.

It’s not very well known. I had to ask for it specifically and even the receptionist thought I meant lasik until I clarified where it was listed on their own website.

It’s similar to cataract surgery but instead of removing your lens and replacing it; they just add a second one with your prescription in front of it. Basically it’s a permanent contact.

They slice a very small incision, slide in the folded lens, and then smooth it out. Takes 20-30 minutes. Doesn’t remove any tissue from the eye like other procedures or leave a flap. It can be reversed by removing the lens in another procedure, and can be redone in the future if your prescription changes a lot. They can also correct an astigmatism using these lenses.

After surgery, I wore eye shields at night for a week, and had to do the same eye drop protocol that is done after cataract surgery. 3 bottle of drops, 3-4 times a day for around 21 days. They had a single bottle option that combined all the meds which would’ve been only 1 drop 3-4 times a day, but it was $200. So I filled the 3 bottles at the pharmacy for a total of $30 instead.

Vision was perfect right after surgery. Eyes felt mildly dry for maybe 2-3 days but that could’ve been some of the drops.

So happy to not spend $800+ per year on contacts and solution, or worrying about losing a contact while swimming. I would do it again if it’s ever needed.