Lifestyle Lens Implants

During cataract surgery the doctor removes the natural lens inside the eye, and replaces it with an artificial lens called an Intraocular Lens (IOL). There are several IOL options available today when considering cataract surgery, some involve the patient continuing to need glasses after surgery, while others help a patient to be glasses free for most activities.

The decision about which lens implant will be best for you, is made by both you and your surgeon and will depend on your medical and lifestyle needs. With new technologies, some patients can undergo cataract removal, and see clearly without glasses or contacts!

RELATED PAGES

Types of Implants

Multifocal IOL▲

Multifocal IOL
(Abbott Symfony™, Abbott Tecnis Multifocal™, and Alcon AcrySof ReSTORE® )

The Multifocal IOL is a lens with multiple focal points designed to allow different amounts of light to enter the eye providing the patient with a full range of vision at all distances: near, far, and everywhere in between! This IOL will give the patient vision for up-close, intermediate, and distance. This lens is excellent for those wanting to achieve vision at all ranges without the aid of glasses.
Accomodative IOL▲

Accomodative IOL (Bausch + Lomb Crystalens® or Trulign®)

The Crystalens is the only FDA approved accommodative IOL that mimics the functions of a normal healthy eye. Once implanted, the Crystalens moves back and forth giving the patient near vision (reading a book or cell phone), intermediate (computer vision) and distance vision(driving or watching TV) without having to depend on glasses all the time! The muscles inside the eye move the lens back and forth providing different amounts of power depending on where the patient is looking. After having an accommodative lens most patients see very well for distance and intermediate without glasses. Often patients need to use readers on occasion depending on how well their internal muscle moves the lens inside the eye after surgery.
Previous to Multifocal and Accommodative IOLs, the only options for presbyopic patients were bifocals, bifocal contact lenses (which had a very low success rate), and CustomVue® Lasik for monovision.
Toric IOL▲
Toric Astigmatism Lens:
By choosing the Toric Astigmatism IOL you can expect your distance vision to be very good without always needing to wear glasses; however, you will need to wear glasses for intermediate and near vision. You have an option to have any astigmatism corrected with a laser prior to having your cataract removed.

Toric IOL (Alcon AcrySof Toric®)

The Toric IOL is a lens with a single focal point, designed to correct both cataracts and large amounts of astigmatism.&nnbsp; This lens corrects the astigmatism and will give the patient excellent distance vision without glasses. Patients will most likely still require reading glasses for up-close vision. This is a great option for patients wanting crystal clear distance vision without wearing distance vision glasses.
Monofocal IOL▲
Monofocal IOL
The Monofocal IOL is a lens with a single focal point, designed to correct cataracts and provide distance vision correction. This lens will give the patient excellent distance vision providing that the patient does not have an astigmatism. This lens does not correct for up-close or mid-range vision, nor does it correct astigmatism. After monofocal IOL cataract surgery, patients should expect to need glasses for near and intermediate vision. If the patient has astigmatism or slight distance correction, the patient may need glasses at all times. This is a good option for patients that like wearing glasses.

Autofocusing Lens:
Multifocal, Accommodative, and Extended Range of Vision Lenses
SYMFONY, TECNIS, ReSTOR, CRYSTALENS, and TRULIGN
With Autofocusing Lenses you can expect to be less dependent on glasses for distance, intermediate and near vision. After having the autofocusing lens, most patients see very well for distance and intermediate without glasses. Some patients still need to use readers on occasion after surgery. This lens is designed for someone who wants the most advanced technology available for lessening dependence on glasses after surgery. If you select this option the surgeon will correct any astigmatism. You have an option to have any astigmatism corrected with a laser prior to having the cataract removed.

Blended Vision with Astigmatism Correction ▲
Blended Vision with Astigmatism Correction: Blended Vision (Monovision) helps patients to see well for distance and intermediate with less dependence on glasses. The patient’s dominant eye is set for distance power and the non-dominate eye is set for intermediate or near power. If you select this option the surgeon will correct any astigmatism.
Basic Monofocal Lens with Astigmatism Correction ▲
Basic Monofocal Lens with Astigmatism Correction: By choosing the Monofocal Basic IOL with Astigmatism Correction you can expect your distance vision to be very good without always needing to wear glasses; however, you will need to wear glasses for intermediate and near vision. If you select this option the surgeon will correct the astigmatism. You have an option to have any astigmatism corrected with a laser prior to having your cataract removed.
Basic Monofocal Lens No Astigmatism Correction ▲
Basic Monofocal Lens No Astigmatism Correction: With this option your vision will improve by removing the cataract. With a basic monofocal lens you can expect to need to wear glasses for distance, intermediate and near vision. The basic monofocal lens does not correct astigmatism.

Further Options
Patients with nearsightedness and farsightedness often also have astigmatism. Astigmatism is caused by an irregularly shaped cornea; instead of being round like a basketball, the cornea is shaped like a football. This can make your vision blurry even after cataract surgery. The good news is that is can be corrected.

Depending on the severity of the astigmatism, the doctor may recommend one of the following two procedures:

Limbal Relaxing Incision (LRI) In addition to the Toric IOL, astigmatism can also be reduced by a procedure called a Limbal Relaxing Incision (LRI). The LRI can accompany any IOL. This procedure can be performed at the same time as the cataract operation, or as a separate procedure at a later date. A Limbal Relaxing Incision (LRI) is a small incision that the ophthalmologist makes into your cornea to make its shape rounder. Alternatively, the surgeon may elect to perform PRK to further reduce the astigmatism if the LRI is unsuccessful. Healing time is usually about a week.

PRK If needed, PRK is another treatment for patients looking to reduce or eliminate astigmatism after cataract removal. This treatment option can be accompanied with the Monofocal IOL or the Multifocal IOL. Once the patient has healed completely from the cataract procedure, and the doctor has deemed them a good candidate, a patient may proceed with PRK Laser Treatment. Before the actual laser treatment takes place to reshape the cornea for the astigmatism correction, a tiny amount of tissue (the top surface lining called the epithelium) is removed. The epithelium grows back over the course of about a week. Because of this, healing time can vary from patient to patient.

Lifestyle Lens Implants

Types of Implants

No matter what your lifestyle may be, at Morris Eye Group we have a solution for your cataract surgery.

Encinitas Location

Vista Location