Procedures

(IOL) Intraocular Lens

• Overview
• AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL
• Monovision or multifocal?

Ever dreamt about turning back time and seeing clearly again? Have you imagined reading the paper, looking through a menu, or clearly seeing product labels, without the need for reading glasses?

The intraocular lens is an artifical lens. It is a transparent plastic disc with a similar shape to a natural lens. They are made of silicone, acrylic or PMMA, but other materials are under development.

The intraocular lens is designed to reside inside the eye and replaces your own natural lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract, or to change the eye's optical power. IOL’s are often appropriate if you are not suitable for LASIK or ASLA.

Most IOLs are fixed monofocal lenses matched to distance vision. However, other types are available, such as bifocal or multi focal IOLs which provide focused vision at far and reading distance, and adaptive IOLs which provide the patient with limited visual accommodation.

Insertion of an intraocular lens for the treatment of cataracts is the most commonly performed eye surgical procedure. The procedure can be done under local anaesthesia with the patient awake throughout the operation.

The surgical technique most commonly used is called Phacoemulsification Surgery or Small Insicion Cataract Surgery. Phacoemulsification is pronounced fay-ko-emul-sah-fah-kay-shun.

This procedure enables the removal of the cataract and implantation of the artificial lens through the mico incision (less than 3mm) and ensures little discomfort, a low chance of post-operative complications, fast healing time, and a quick return to normal activities.

• Step 1 Once a small incision is made, a small tip is inserted to break the cataract into small fragments via ultrasonic vibration. These are then removed by suction via the incision.
• Step 2 The artifical lens of choice is usually a foldable intraocular lens and can be folded to less than half its size, allowing insertion through the tiny incision. Once inserted, the lens unfolds to its normal full size. The incision is nomally so small that it often requires no stitches, or perhaps only one or two.
• Step 3 After surgery the eye is covered with a shield for protection.

AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL

personalEYES, a leader in cataract surgery, offers the most advanced techniques and technologies to treat its cataract patients and enhance their quality of life.

“Many conditions affect people as they age, and cataracts are one of the most common,” says Dr. Kerrie Meades, Medical Director. “Cataract sufferers may find that the ‘clouding’ of the eye’s lens that identifies a cataract interferes with their quality of vision and makes normal activities such as driving a car, reading a newspaper or seeing people’s faces increasingly difficult.”

While not all cataracts require surgery, it is the most effective treatment and one of the safest and most common surgical procedures performed. The actual procedure involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL).

“The vast majority of patients who undergo cataract surgery today receive monofocal IOLs, which typically require them to use reading glasses or bifocals for near vision following surgery,” Dr. Meades says. “The good news is that IOL technology has taken a giant leap forward. Now, the objective is not simply to improve patients’ distance vision, but rather to enhance their vision with an IOL that provides them with a range of quality vision. We are finding that this type of platform is allowing patients to abandon their glasses and enhance their lifestyle.”

Dr. Meades says the most dynamic product of this type of platform is the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL, a multifocal lens that treats both cataracts and presbyopia – another age-related condition that hampers people’s ability to see or read near objects, forcing the need for reading glasses or bifocals.

In clinical trials, four out of five patients who received the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL in both eyes reported never wearing their glasses or bifocals following surgery. personalEYES has been implanting the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL for the past four years, and Dr. Meades says the results are even more outstanding in actual practice.

personalEYES also offers the AcrySof® Toric IOL, which provides cataract patients with pre-existing astigmatism distance vision without the aid of glasses following surgery.

Clinical trial results showed that 97 percent of patients achieved freedom from glasses for distance vision when the AcrySof® Toric IOL was implanted in both eyes.

To determine which solution is better for you, make a no obligation, free suitability assessment appointment.

Monovision or multifocal?

Monovision is a correction therapy for presbyopia (loss of reading vision) where one eye is fitted for distance, the other for near vision.

Multifocal IOLs use a different strategy to achieve good distance and near vision without glasses. These lenses have highly specialised optical properties that can divide light to bring it into focus at more than one point at the same time. This allows the eye to see both near and far, usually without glasses.

Don’t wait until your eyesight gets worse. You can fix it, now, with simple, painless and effective treatment. To determine which solution is better for you, make a no obligation, free suitability assessment appointment.