It may seem appealing to avoid tissue removal and permanent corneal reshaping by simply inserting a special lens. However, the ICL lens is generally used only in select cases. Your doctor can help you determine which of these two procedures may be most appropriate for you based on your current eyeglass prescription. ICLs are FDA approved to correct nearsightedness ranging from -3.00D to -20.00D. That said, these lenses are only approved for the treatment of nearsightedness. If you have farsightedness or astigmatism, you may not be a candidate for EVO Visian ICL Lens treatment.
The LASIK procedure is FDA-cleared for the treatment of both nearsightedness and farsightedness, with or without astigmatism. However, the range of nearsightedness that's treatable with LASIK is less than that of ICL implantation. Interestingly, while the ICL procedure does not remove any corneal tissue, it is considered more invasive than the LASIK procedure. For this reason, doctors tend to reserve it for patients with nearsightedness beyond what LASIK can treat effectively.