Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE): Lens Replacement Surgery in Brisbane

Your initial optometrist assessment is free. Every patient proceeding to surgery has a paid specialist surgeon consultation to confirm suitability, discuss their specific procedure and arrange surgery. The consultation fee is deducted from the surgery price for every procedure if you proceed. Prescribed medications and eye drops are purchased separately; eligible patients can access PBS subsidies for eligible prescriptions. See our pricing details.

RLE removes the eye's natural lens and replaces it with a premium artificial IOL to correct short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. It is essentially the same operation as cataract surgery, performed before a cataract develops. As a bonus, it permanently eliminates the risk of future cataracts.

RLE is most suitable for patients over 40 to 45 who are developing presbyopia (the need for reading glasses), patients with high prescriptions unsuitable for laser eye surgery, and patients over 50 who want to correct both distance and near vision in a single procedure. It is particularly well suited to patients who are not good candidates for LASIK — for example those with thin corneas, very high prescriptions, or dry eyes — and to patients who want to avoid future cataract surgery.

At Focus Vision, RLE costs $6,000 per eye — an all-inclusive price that covers the procedure, all pre-operative assessments, the premium intraocular lens, anaesthetist fees, hospital fees, and one year of post-operative follow-up appointments. Interest-free payment plans are available from $58 per week. For comparison, our major competitor VSON lists RLE from $7,000 per eye. The paid specialist surgeon consultation fee is deducted from the surgery price if you proceed. Prescribed medications and eye drops are purchased separately. If your vision needs fine-tuning afterwards, enhancements are free for two years under our enhancement policy. Medicare and private health funds don't pay for RLE done to correct your prescription; see RLE cost, Medicare and health funds.

No. At Focus Vision our default is to have you fast asleep for RLE, sedated by a specialist anaesthetist who stays with you throughout. Numbing drops are used, so there are no needles around the eye, and you wake up in recovery with the operation done. The anaesthetist's fee is included in the price. See can I be asleep for lens surgery?

Yes. Because RLE removes the natural crystalline lens — the same lens that develops a cataract — patients who have RLE will never develop a cataract in the treated eye. This is one of RLE's most significant long-term advantages over laser eye surgery, which does not alter the natural lens and therefore does not prevent cataracts from forming later in life.

For patients over 50, RLE is often the better long-term option. LASIK only corrects distance vision — patients over 45 typically still need reading glasses after LASIK as presbyopia is not addressed. RLE with a premium multifocal or EDOF lens can correct distance, intermediate, and near vision simultaneously, and also eliminates future cataract risk. LASIK is generally more suitable for younger patients with stable prescriptions who do not yet have presbyopia.

Focus Vision offers the full range of premium intraocular lenses for RLE, including Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) lenses that provide excellent distance and intermediate vision with minimal halos, trifocal multifocal lenses offering distance, intermediate, and near vision, and toric lenses for patients with significant astigmatism (see our guide to RLE lens choices). Our surgeons take time to understand your lifestyle, visual demands, and hobbies before recommending the lens that is genuinely the best fit for your life — not simply the most standard option.

RLE is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the world. The technique is essentially identical to cataract surgery, which is performed millions of times annually with an extremely high safety record. At Focus Vision, all RLE procedures are performed in the South Brisbane Day Hospital — a fully accredited private day hospital — by internationally fellowship-trained corneal subspecialists. Our surgeons use the Focus Vision Refractive Outcomes Analyzer to continuously benchmark their results against ESCRS international standards.