She’s Helped Thousands of Omaha Patients Choose Refractive Lens Exchange. Then She Chose It for Herself.
Published by on February 27, 2026
Jolene Palmquist, RN, CRNO, Surgical Manager for Kugler Vision, with surgeon Dr. Lance Kugler, MD following her successful RLE with LAL procedure in Omaha, NE.
If you’ve been searching for Refractive Lens Exchange in Omaha, NE, you’ve probably asked yourself some version of the same question: is this really worth it? Consider this — the woman who has spent over 40 years counseling patients through vision correction surgery at one of Omaha’s most trusted practices decided it was time to stop counseling and start experiencing.
Jolene Palmquist, RN, CRNO, is the Surgical Manager at Kugler Vision in Omaha, Nebraska. She has guided more patients through Refractive Lens Exchange than most people could count. And when her own vision started making daily life harder than it needed to be, she did exactly what she’s always told patients to do. She took the next step.
Her story is worth reading — whether you’re squinting at menus in Omaha restaurants, fishing for your readers in the dark, or quietly wondering if there’s a permanent solution to glasses and contacts. (There is!)
Jolene Palmquist, Surgical Manager for Kugler Vision, is now able to comfortably complete her daily near vision tasks, like using her computer, following Refractive Lens Exchange.
What Is Refractive Lens Exchange? An Omaha Expert Explains
Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) is a procedure that replaces the eye’s natural lens with a premium artificial lens, correcting vision at the source. Unlike LASIK, which reshapes the cornea, RLE works from the inside out — and because the new lens won’t age or cloud over time, it provides lasting clarity at distance, intermediate, and near ranges, often eliminating the need for glasses or contacts entirely.
RLE is especially well-suited for people in their 50s and beyond who are dealing with presbyopia — the gradual loss of near vision that makes reading glasses and bifocals feel like a permanent accessory. It’s also an excellent option for patients who are no longer candidates for LASIK, or who have become intolerant to contact lenses.
“Most RLE is done in patients over 50,” explains Lance Kugler, MD, refractive surgeon and CEO of Kugler Vision. “This is when the lens in their eye has lost the vast majority of it’s ability to change focus.”
For Omaha and greater Nebraska and Iowa residents who have been told they’re “not quite ready for cataract surgery” but are struggling daily with their vision, Refractive Lens Exchange may be the answer you didn’t know existed. Many who have aged out of potential LASIK candidacy are surprised to learn there is another option.
“There’s no upper limit on the age at which we can do corrective eye surgery,” notes Dr. Kugler.
“As people get older, there are procedures like RLE that may make more sense for them. Age should not be any reason to not come in for a consultation.”
“The Highlight of My Day Was Taking My Contacts Out in the Parking Lot”
Jolene had RK surgery back in 1992 and enjoyed years of good vision afterward. But as she’ll tell you with a laugh, “the birthdays kept coming.” By her 40s, her near vision had started to decline — a natural progression — and she found herself increasingly dependent on glasses. Her contacts, once comfortable, had become a daily irritation.
“Before my surgery, day-to-day was honestly more frustrating than I realized at the time,” she says. “I couldn’t just glance at my phone, my computer at work, or a menu without stopping to find my glasses or adjust my contacts. The contacts became increasingly uncomfortable — dryness, irritation, and extra steps just to function through a normal day.”
The moment she knew something had to change? “When I realized the minute I would get in my car to go home from work, the first thing I would do was take the contacts out. The highlight of my day!”
Sound familiar? For many Omaha-area adults in their 50s and 60s, this is exactly what life looks like before Refractive Lens Exchange.
Forty Years in Corrective Eye Surgery Made the Decision Easier
You might think that working in vision correction for four decades would make Jolene more cautious, more analytical, more likely to second-guess. The opposite was true.
“I’ve seen the technology evolve and the outcomes improve dramatically over time, so I had complete confidence in it,” she says.
“I trusted the science, I trusted the surgeons, and I knew the quality-of-life benefits because I’ve watched them unfold for patients for decades.”
What she wasn’t immune to was the very human question every Omaha RLE patient asks in the days before surgery: will this work for me?
“I really wasn’t nervous about the surgery itself. What’s natural, no matter how much experience you have, is thinking about your results. At that point, it becomes an exercise in trust. I put my trust in Dr. Kugler and the team, knowing their expertise, precision, and commitment to outcomes.”
Jolene found the adjustment process for her Light Adjustable Lenses in Omaha, NE easy and painless.
The Light Adjustable Lens: Omaha’s Most Personalized RLE Option
Jolene’s Refractive Lens Exchange was performed with the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) — a premium lens technology available at Kugler Vision in Omaha that makes RLE uniquely customizable.
Here’s what makes it remarkable: after surgery, the LAL can be non-invasively adjusted using UV light treatments to fine-tune vision based on how the eyes are actually responding. Rather than locking in a single fixed prescription on surgery day, your Kugler Vision care team works with you through a series of brief adjustment appointments to dial in the clearest possible outcome for your lifestyle.
“The adjustment process is really pretty easy,” Jolene says. “Just have to hold really still and stare at the light for about 90 seconds. The doctors are so good about talking you through the whole process.”
For Omaha patients who want the most personalized, precise Refractive Lens Exchange result possible, the Light Adjustable Lens offers something other options simply can’t: the ability to see and “test drive” your results before they’re permanent.
What It’s Like to Be a Patient at Kugler Vision in Omaha
Jolene has answered thousands of patient questions over the course of her career. But the moment she became a Kugler Vision RLE patient herself, something shifted.
“Even when I would ask questions that I’ve obviously answered for patients thousands of times — now that I was the patient, I needed the reassurance,” she says.
“My questions and concerns were always met with patience and genuine concern. Being a patient reminded me just how powerful that combination of knowledge and compassion really is.”
The Kugler Vision team, she says, struck a balance she’s proud of. “They kept things lighthearted and made the experience enjoyable, while maintaining a level of professionalism that never wavered. I always knew I was in excellent hands.”
That experience — clinical excellence paired with genuine human care — is what has made Kugler Vision Omaha’s most trusted destination for Refractive Lens Exchange for patients across Nebraska and Iowa.
Little Moments, Big Independence
There was no dramatic reveal, no single tearful moment in the clinic. For Jolene, clarity announced itself quietly — on her drives home, in a dim restaurant, in the pages of a book.
“Night driving,” she says. “I can see things so much clearer and brighter.”
And then, at dinner:
“I have the menu read before my husband and friends have their glasses found or passed around.”
Now, she reads story books to her grandchildren without running to find her glasses. She reads price tags, works at her computer, and moves through her day without the constant friction that used to define it.
“RLE gave me back my independence.”
Why Omaha Patients Trust Kugler Vision for Refractive Lens Exchange
Kugler Vision is the first practice in Nebraska and Iowa to offer all seven modern vision correction procedures — meaning the recommendation you receive at your EyeAnalysis is based entirely on what’s best for your eyes, not on what the practice happens to offer.
Dr. Lance Kugler is an Omaha native and a nationally recognized leader in refractive surgery. He completed a fellowship in Cornea and Refractive Surgery at the Wang Vision Institute in Nashville, and has dedicated his career to advancing the field and delivering exceptional outcomes for patients across the Omaha metro, greater Nebraska, and Iowa.
Kugler Vision has been voted Best in Omaha for LASIK eleven years running, earned the Omaha World-Herald Omaha’s Choice designation, and both Dr. Kugler and surgeon Dr. Drew Dickson, MD, hold WCRS accreditation — a rigorous standard that confirms the surgeon meets the highest bar in refractive surgery care. Patients have traveled from 48 states to Omaha for care at Kugler Vision. The region’s best is right here.
Take the First Step Toward Refractive Lens Exchange in Omaha
If Jolene’s story sounds like yours — if readers have become a constant companion, contacts have become a daily frustration, or you’ve quietly wondered whether a permanent solution exists — the next step is an EyeAnalysis at Kugler Vision in Omaha.
The EyeAnalysis is Kugler Vision’s comprehensive consultation, designed to evaluate your eyes in detail and determine whether Refractive Lens Exchange in Omaha is the right procedure for you. It’s the same first step Jolene guided thousands of patients through before she took it herself.
For Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs, and greater Nebraska and Iowa residents ready to stop managing their vision and start living it — your EyeAnalysis is waiting.
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