When you are evaluated at the Robson Eye Institute as a candidate for cataract surgery, our staff will spend time with you to explain the replacement lens options that best suit your particular vision and lifestyle needs. Thanks to new technology available at Robson Eye Institute, patients have more choices when it comes to cataract surgery and replacement lenses—choices that can help you choose what will work best in your daily activities and for the things you love to do the most.
Monofocal Lens Option
There are two main types of lenses. The Monofocal Intraocular Lens has been used for the last 30 years and corrects vision to a single point, usually distance. Patients with this lens may see well at a distance without glasses, but usually, require glasses for reading and near tasks.
Premium Lens Options
Do you wear glasses or contacts for overall vision and, additionally, glasses to read? For those patients who are looking for more visual freedom with less dependence on glasses or contacts, recent advances in lens implant technology provide an attractive option.
Robson Eye Institute offers a variety of replacement Intraocular Lens options and, likely, there is a lens that is best suitable for your particular eye health and your personal lifestyle. Multifocal Lens Implants, sometimes referred to as “Lifestyle Lens” or “Premium Lens,” can treat vision at a variety of distances and, most notably, up close or at reading distance. The term “multifocal” means that the lens literally provides multiple focal points so people can see well at a variety of distances, resulting in greater independence from glasses or contact lenses than ever before.
It is recommended that patients who are active and want more out of life with less dependence on glasses or contacts choose a Multifocal Lens Option along with Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery.
Multifocal Intraocular Lenses are much like multifocal glasses in that they can allow the eye to focus at several distances. These lenses help patients focus on near and distant objects in the eye at the same time and are designed to offer better overall vision. While overall vision with multifocal lenses is better than that with monofocal lenses, patients with these lenses may have some loss of contrast in the distance and may see some glare and halos when driving at night.
Multifocal Lens options include, but are not limited to, the Tecnis® Multifocal IOL, a lens option designed to help cataract patients see better at all distances, including reading. The Tecnis Toric IOL is designed to treat astigmatism which can improve your vision at all distances.
Using innovative Wavefront technology, the TECNIS™ lens implant restores safer, sharper vision than before your treatment. The Tecnis lens option provides better vision at all distances including reading. One benefit is better reaction time in performing more challenging tasks throughout the day. In fact, in a clinical driving simulator study, the TECNIS lens implant allowed drivers to identify a pedestrian 45 feet sooner than those with a traditional lens implant.
The TECNIS™ lens implant is a Multifocal Lens option and is the first and only lens with claims approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for improved functional vision in low light conditions – including night driving – which is likely to provide a meaningful safety benefit for older drivers.
Robson Eye Institute also offers the new Tecnis Symfony® extended depth-of-focus IOL, which provides a more seamless range of vision across a spectrum of distances. This lens can help mitigate the effects of presbyopia (the need for reading glasses at close distances) while providing a fuller range of clear vision at other distances as well. Tecnis Symfony Toric IOL offers extended depth of focus as well as treating astigmatism.
You’ll be given detailed information about all types of lenses, including costs and insurance coverage when you visit Robson Eye Institute. Patients are encouraged to take the time to ask doctors and staff any questions possible in order to make a comfortable, informed decision about which options are best for you.