IOL Choices
A wide range of replacement lenses are available to cataract patients, each offering different advantages for post-surgery vision. The most effective lens to use depends on the patient's individual preferences and goals for their vision. The lenses eliminate the need for glasses or contacts after cataract surgery, providing most patients with convenient, effective results for their specific vision conditions.
Multifocal Intraocular Lenses (IOLs)
ReSTOR® IOL
The AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL is an intraocular lens that provides good near, intermediate and distance vision for patients who want to significantly decrease their dependence on glasses or contacts after undergoing cataract surgery.
The biconvex optic of the ReSTOR IOL is shaped during a process known as apodized diffraction. Apodized diffraction provides the patient with an increased depth of focus.
- Unlike other IOLs that are made of silicone or hard plastic, the AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL is a soft, foldable acrylic lens.
- There is no need for stitches because a smaller incision is made in the eye.
- The ReSTOR IOL corrects for both cataracts and presbyopia.
- The implant filters blue light without affecting the quality of vision.
ReZoom® IOL
The ReZoom multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) is a state-of-the-art clear, foldable implant that is used to replace the lens of the eye for those patients who have had cataract surgery. The ReZoom IOL can be used for those patients with or without presbyopia who want to have near, intermediate and distance vision without relying on glasses or contact lenses.
The ReZoom lens features five spherical segments with smooth transitions in between so the eyes focus seamlessly from one distance to the next. The center of the lens is optimized for bright light and distance vision, while the fourth zone supports near-vision in a variety of light conditions, and the outermost zone accommodates for low-light distance vision (such as when driving at night). The ReZoom is also specially designed to reduce internal reflections and minimize glare.
Tecnis® Multifocal IOL
The Tecnis Multifocal IOL can be used for those patients with or without presbyopia who want to have near, intermediate and distance vision without relying on glasses or contact lenses. Cataract surgery, which replaces the eye's cataract-impaired lens with an artificial clear lens, also known as an intraocular lens, or IOL, is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the United States.
The Tecnis IOL was designed to provide cataract surgery patients with a high-quality vision similar to that of a younger person. The Tecnis IOL is meant to improve functional vision - the ability to see objects in varying light conditions - especially at night and twilight and in rain, snow and fog. This means improved night vision and reduction of spherical aberrations, an undesirable scattering of light that is a common side effect of cataract surgery.
Unlike other multifocal IOLs, the Tecnis Multifocal IOL provides the following benefits:
- Excellent vision at all distances
- Excellent vision at all light levels
- 90 percent of Tecnis Multifocal IOL patients do not require reading glasses
Accommodative Intraocular Lenses (IOLs)
Crystalens IOLs
Crystalens is the only FDA-approved presbyopia correcting intraocular lens (IOL) that corrects vision through accommodation. The Crystalens IOL is made with flexible silicone that has hinges on each side allowing it to move with the eye muscle, flexing and accommodating seamlessly so you can focus on the objects around you at any distance. In other words, it dynamically adjusts to your visual needs.
Accommodation is the ability to shift focus between nearby and distant objects, providing sharper vision at multiple distances in order to minimize the use of glasses. Other IOLs are unable to accommodate and those patients may require additional vision correction with glasses or contact lenses.
Toric IOLs for Astigmatism
Toric IOLs
Intraocular lenses are used during cataract surgery to replace the damaged lens of the eye with an implant that clears up and corrects vision, oftentimes leaving patients with little to no dependence on glasses.
Up until now, patients with astigmatism did not have the same opportunities that other cataract patients have had in correcting their condition with the types of IOL lenses that were available. Typically, the astigmatic patient would need an additional surgical procedure, such as refractive surgery or LASIK, to correct their vision after the procedure. If the patient did not want to undergo another surgical procedure, the only option for correction would be the use of either contact lenses or glasses to address their astigmatism.
Toric IOLs are able to accommodate for the condition of astigmatism. Toric IOLs are specially designed to correct astigmatism along with overall vision during cataract surgery, offering complete vision correction.