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PIOL (Phakic Intraocular Lenses) Phakic Intraocular Lenses are still in FDA clinical trials. PIOL are currently best prescribed for nearsighted and farsighted patients. 
Phakic Intraocular Lenses are an investigational procedure to place contact lenses within the eye. Because of the high potential refractive correction ability of contacts, PIOL's have a wide range of possible correction. If they make it through the FDA trials, PIOL's are expected to gain wide acceptance as one of the primary implant surgeries. In the PIOL procedure, the lenses are placed just in front of and just behind the iris. Part of the appeal of the process is that, unlike some implant procedures, the patients natural lens is left intact. This means the procedure is completely reversible. This may not seem that important to the potential patient looking for permanent vision correction, but considering the phenomanal rate at which new and better procedures are being discovered, who is to say that something more effective and efficient won't be developed? Where with PIOL the patient could just have the lenses removed, in laser surgery part of the cornea is permanently removed, possibly eliminating future more advanced surgeries.
As PIOL is in FDA clinical trials, it must prove itself to be as safe and affective as
other implant surgeries. Data is still being collected on the potential negative side effects,
such as cataract formation, corneal decompensation, and glaucoma.
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