Multifocal IOL Implants
Multifocal IOL Implants have become increasingly popular among patients because of the likelihood they will no longer be required to wear glasses or contacts after surgery. Once you have made the decision to undergo cataract surgery with your eye doctor you will have a series of decisions to make related to the type of artificial lens implant you will have. Up until recently everyone who had cataract surgery received a monofocal lens implant. This lens enabled for vision of one distance, typically distances far away. With new innovations a better lens is now available. These lenses are referred to as premium lenses and come in various formats or types.
A Multifocal Lens Implant is a lens that has a different power in the center of the lens and another power in the border of the lens so that vision can be focused for far or near out of the same eye. These different zones of lens power work together to provide the eye with near and distance vision. The lenses are made of plastic or silicone materials and placed permanently in the eye after removal of the eye’s natural lens. Subsequently, a Multifocal Lens can help correct Nearsightedness, Farsightedness, and Presbyopia.
The leading advantage offered by multifocal lenses is the opportunity to become less reliant on reading glasses for near activities. For many people, presbyopia, the loss of the eye’s ability to zoom from distant to near objects, is very frustrating and becomes worse with age. For people discontented by the need for reading glasses, multifocal lenses offer a good alternative.
Multifocal IOL lens implants enable patients to see at near far and intermediate distances after surgery. The 2 major brand names in this category are the The AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL by Alcon and the Tecnis® by AMO. (Recently acquired by Abbott). With a multifocal IOL the central portion of the lens has a series of steps that are carved in a very precise arrangement with varying step heights and distances between steps. Each of the steps of this diffractive optic bends the incoming light differently; creating a near focus that is quite separated from the distance focus formed by the remaining refractive portion of the lens. This large separation between the two images allows for less artifacts or distortion in either of the images, providing good quality of vision at both distance and near.
Dr. Reeves will go over the pros and cons of each type of multifocal lens with you to help find the one must suitable for your eyes.
Toric Lens Implants
Toric Lens Implants are a type of Lens Implant that can correct astigmatism. Astigmatism is an optical irregularity that is caused by the cornea being shaped more like a football, than spherical like a baseball. Astigmatism may occur in varying degrees in each eye and can accompany myopia or hyperopia. For individuals with uncorrected astigmatism, images may look blurry or shadowed. Astigmatism can accompany any form of refractive error and is very common.
For Cataract patients who have astigmatism, and who do not wish to wear eyeglasses to see clearly at a distance, choosing a Toric Lens Implant can help them be free of glasses for tasks such as driving, that require clear distance vision. Toric IOL technology uses biocompatible materials that have been successfully used in contact lenses and proven safe for the eye.
Toric Lens Implants do not correct Presbyopia, and therefore even with Toric Lens Implants to correct astigmatism after Cataract Surgery, most patients still require reading glasses or bifocals to be able to comfortably perform near vision tasks such as reading and intermediate vision tasks such as computer work.
If you have a considerable amount of astigmatism, the doctors and staff at The Reeves Eye Institute will discuss Toric Lens Implants with you, as they may be a good option for providing you with the best possible vision without needing eyeglasses to see at distance after your Cataract Surgery.
Accommodating IOL
With today’s advanced lens procedures, patients now have a choice in the type of lens that is implanted during cataract or clear lens extraction surgery. Unlike conventional “single vision” intraocular lenses (IOLs), accommodating IOLs are lens implants that are designed to help patients see at varying distances using different points of focus.
The objective of an accommodating IOL is to provide functional vision at different distances to reduce the use of glasses. Although they might still prefer to wear glasses for extended reading, most accommodating IOL patients experience independence from glasses for tasks such as driving, watching TV, reading menus, and using their computers and cell phones.
The Accommodative IOL (intraocular lens implant) is designed to mimic the movement of the natural crystalline lens of the eye. When we are younger, the natural lens is very flexible and easily moves back and forth within the eye as we change our visual focus from up close to distance objects. As we age however, most commonly in our early to mid 40s, the eye loses its flexibility and can no longer easily accommodate those changes in our focus. To imitate the action of the young natural lens, the accommodating IOLs are able to move and/or change shape inside the eye to allow focus at multiple distances.
Like a multifocal IOL, the accommodating IOL is implanted inside the eye and requires your surgeon to calculate and choose the optimal implant power prior to surgery.