Until recently cataract patients received monofocal lens implants that had only a single power. This meant you had a choice of correction for either far or near vision. If you suffer from presbyopia like many people over the age 50 this would mean that you still need glasses for either reading or for distance vision. The FDA has now approved several multifocal lens implants for use by certified ophthalmologists. The multifocal IOL lens can increase your chances for a life free of dependence on glasses or contacts after cataract surgery for near, far, and intermediate vision. If you have worn glasses for a very long time this might be an opportunity for you to eliminate this hassle from your life.
The FDA clinical results showed that 84% of patients who received the ReStor lens in both eyes achieved distance visual acuity of 20/25 or better and near visual acuity of 20/32 or better without correction by contacts or glasses while only 23 percent of the conventional or monofocal control group achieved this level. Other lenses include the Crystalens and AMO’s ReZoom and Tecnis lenses. The ReZoom IOL Balanced View Optics distribute light over five optical zones for enhanced restoration of visual function, providing distance, intermediate and near vision for reduced spectacle dependence. This allows the lens to match its performance characteristics with the lifestyle demands of the patient.
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ReSTOR
A new Multifocal Lens can potentially eliminate glasses from your life after cataract surgery.
Because Costello Eye Physicians cares deeply about the visual outcomes for our patients we now offer the latest technology in multifocal lens implants. Costello Eye Physicians is one of the first distinguished eye centers in Central New York currently utilizing this exciting new technology. In order to better understand your options for lens implant procedures please read below.
People with progressed cataracts often describe the sensation as looking through a piece of wax paper. A cataract may make light from the sun or a lamp seem too bright, causing glare. Colors may not appear as bright as they once did. Or at night oncoming headlights may cause more glare than before.
When your physician tells you that you have a cataract and it should be removed, it may be frightening to consider. But, once you understand what a cataract is, how it will be removed, and the life-changing benefits cataract surgery can bring, you’ll likely wish you’d had the procedure sooner.
A cataract can progress until eventually there is a complete loss of vision in your eye, and neither diet nor laser treatment will make a cataract go away. However, cataract surgery can help restore your vision, long before you experience loss of vision significant enough to interfere with your daily activities.
Getting Ready for Surgery
Once it is determined that you have cataracts and that they must be removed your doctor will then work with you to decide which IOL is best for your visual needs. There are two basic types of IOLs, each designed for a specific corrective function. These types are monofocal and multifocal.
Monofocal IOL: An intraocular lens that provides patients with only one focal point. Most commonly, these lenses correct only for distance vision.
Monofocal lenses provide corrective power in only one segment of your visual range (typically distance vision),
Multifocal IOL: Multifocal lenses are designed to correct a range of vision – near through distance. You may be a candidate for the AcrySof ReSTOR IOL, which is an advanced type of multifocal IOL. Ask your doctor if the AcrySof ReSTOR IOL is right for you.
The Procedure
Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure that will only take a few hours. When you arrive, your eyes may be treated with eye drops and anesthetic to minimize any discomfort during the operation.
During this routine operation, a small incision is made in the eye. Your surgeon will use a tiny instrument (about the size of a pen tip) to remove your clouded lens. This can be done with either an AquaLase device, which uses gentle pulses of fluid to wash away your cloudy lens, or an ultrasonic instrument that breaks up and gently removes your cloudy lens (called phaecoemulsification).
Phaecoemulsification: Also called “phaco,” this cataract surgery procedure involves using a device with a vibrating, ultrasonic tip to gently break up the cataract and remove it from the eye.
How does the AcrySof ReSTOR IOL work?
As we perform daily activities such as reading, watching television or working at the computer, our eyes are constantly focusing on objects at varying distances – up close, far away and everything in-between. The ability to quickly change focus throughout this range of vision is called accommodation
Accommodation: The ability of the eye’s lens to change shape to focus on objects at various distances.
Unfortunately, this ability diminishes as we grow older, causing us to become dependent on bifocals or reading glasses. However, the AcrySof ReSTOR IOL was designed to provide quality near to distance vision.
ReZoom Your View of Life With the ReZoom Multifocal IOL
Thanks to the latest advancements in multifocal lens implant technology, cataract surgery not only allows you to ReZoom life, it may allow you to ‘see young again.”
How Age Affects Vision
As we age, beginning around the age of 40, the natural lens inside the eye begins to harden and lose its flexibility. This reduces the eye’s ability to change its focus from near to intermediate, to distance, and back again. This is known as “loss of accommodation” or “presbyopia,” and its earliest symptom is difficulty seeing things up close. Bifocal and even tri-focal glasses become necessary for some people to see clearly at all distances.
As the natural lens of the eye continues to deteriorate, it starts to become cloudy or brown. Vision becomes blurry, and colors lose their brilliance. At first, frequent changes in glasses prescriptions can help, but left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness. The only way to see clearly after a cataract matures is to have it removed and then replaced with an intraocular lens, or IOL.
The ReZoom Multifocal Lens
Full Range of Vision and Greater Independence from Glasses and Contact Lenses
Until recently, patients undergoing lens implant surgery received a monofocal, or single focus IOL. Monofocal IOLs implanted in both eyes generally provide excellent distance vision, while patients often need spectacle correction for near and intermediate vision. In the late 1990s, Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) introduced its first multifocal IOL designed to provide multiple points of focus, thereby dramatically reducing the need for bifocals or tri-focal glasses after surgery.
Today, with its many optical design enhancements, AMO’s second-generation ReZoom Multifocal IOL is providing patients with a full range of vision and greater independence from glasses or contact lenses than ever before. Clinical studies show that 92% of those receiving the ReZoom Lens technology “never”, or “only occasionally,” need to wear glasses.
The ReZoom™ Multifocal Lens Technology
Balanced View Optics Technology literally provides multiple focal points so you can see well at a variety of distances. The ReZoom Multifocal Lens has five uniquely proportioned visual zones designed to provide clear vision for different light and focal distances.
The First Steps to Resuming Life
If you suffer from poor vision, or think you might have a cataract, you should make an appointment to have a complete eye examination. Once it is determined that you are a good candidate for the ReZoom Multifocal IOL, you will be given additional information about the possible risks, complications, and costs involved with the procedure. Be sure to have all of your questions answered before giving your consent to have surgery.
If you are experiencing cataracts or have presbyopia the ReZoom Multifocal Intraocular Lens is a great option. This lens is designed for very flexible and multifunctional vision. ReZoom intraocular lens is a second-generation refractive multifocal IOL that provides cataract patients with greater independence from glasses than monofocal IOLs. The ReZoom proprietary multifocal design provides a range of vision that monofocals cannot match.
The ReZoom Balanced View Optics technology distributes light over five optic zones so that each lens has a distance-dominant central zone for distance vision in bright light conditions when the pupil is constricted.
If you have been told by your eye doctor that you have cataracts and are experiencing one or more of the following vision problems, you may be a candidate for the ReZoom Multifocal lens:
- If you have trouble reading and may require bifocals.
- If your vision is getting increasingly blurred
The Visual Freedom Benefit of ReZOOM
In a clinical study 92 percent of ReZoom IOL patients reported never or only occasionally having to wear glasses.