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One of the challenges of modern cataract or refractive surgery is making the best choice for each patient in order to meet the individual needs or preferences in correcting both distance and near vision. It is important for you, our patient, to determine your particular needs and preferences.
Technological advancements have allowed us to offer you more choices when it comes to your vision and lifestyle. The decision to have cataract surgery now provides you with the opportunity to have a full range of vision, minimizing or possibly eliminating your dependency on glasses for distance as well as reading.
The Multifocal IOL is a clear, foldable lens similar to a contact lens that is implanted inside the eye through a micro-incision. During the procedure, the natural lens of your eye is removed and the Multifocal IOL replaces it. The entire procedure takes approximately 15 minutes and vision is restored immediately in most cases, however vision usually continues to improve in the weeks following the procedure.
The lens is designed with multiple powers so that you can see well at a variety of distances. It allows most people to see well anywhere, be it near, mid-distance or far. For instance, while golfing, you may be able to see where your drive lands, sink your putt, and write down the score all without glasses. Or when shopping, you may be able to read the aisle signs and the package labels, and count your change without glasses.
The lens is designed with multiple powers so that you can see well at a variety of distances. It allows most people to see well anywhere, be it near, mid-distance or far. For instance, while golfing, you may be able to see where your drive lands, sink your putt, and write down the score all without glasses. Or when shopping, you may be able to read the aisle signs and the package labels, and count your change without glasses.
Reasons for Multifocal IOL Implants
Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens of your eye. This lens which sits behind the iris (colored part of the eye) works like the lens of a camera – focusing light images on the retina, which send images to your brain. This natural lens can sometimes become so clouded that it keeps light and images from reaching the retina resulting in decreased vision. This can be caused by eye injury, certain diseases, medications, or in most cases the aging process. The way cataracts are treated is to remove the old, cloudy natural lens and replace it with an intraocular lens (IOL). Until recently that lens was a monofocal IOL – meaning it provided vision at only one distance (usually far) and most patients needed glasses for up-close vision like reading or crafts
Presbyopia
This is the natural aging of the eye. When you were younger, your natural lens was both transparent and flexible. Due to this, your vision may have been stable until your forties. Around that age you may have noticed that you had to hold a book or menu farther and farther away in order to read it. Many people end up wearing a pair of reading glasses or bifocals to compensate for this.
Intraocular lenses have been around since the mid 1960s and over 14.2 million cataract and lens implant procedures are now performed each year. Dr. Croley has now performed this type of surgery since 1986 and was involved in an FDA study for multifocal implants in 1991.
Surgery is performed on an outpatient basis here at our Ambulatory Surgical Center and usually takes about 2 hours from start to finish. Your eye will be treated with anesthetic prior to the procedure so you’ll feel little, if any discomfort. The natural lens is removed and the IOL is implanted all through a tiny incision. After the procedure you will go home to rest and begin a series of eye drops to help with healing and guard against infection. You will see Dr. Croley the next day, as well as several more times over the next few weeks. Everyone heals differently, but most patients are able to resume their normal routine within a few days. Once both eyes have been done, you will enjoy your new freedom without glasses.
Simulation of Full range of vision
Monofocal good distance need readers
Multifocal full range of vision
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