Cataract surgery is one of the simplest eye surgeries in the world. Thousands of cataract surgeries are performed every day. The average time of this type of surgery is 15 minutes. It involves removing the cloudy lens in the eye and replacing it with a new one. The new lens is an artificial lens and there are different types of artificial lenses with varying costs. The artificial lens is also called an intraocular lens (IOL).
What is a Lifestyle IOL?
A Lifestyle IOL allows a patient to view objects at any distance. It is suited for all types of lifestyles. This is as opposed to a cataract surgery that offers only monofocal clarity. Patients could either see far objects better than near objects or vice versa. Also, monofocal clarity is dependent on the use of proper glasses or contact lenses.
Lifestyle IOLs offer multifocal vision clarity. Patients can see objects near or far with equal sharpness and clarity. There are two types of lifestyle intraocular lenses – multifocal and accommodating. The former lifestyle IOL is bifocal with multiple viewing regions. The latter lifestyle IOL utilizes the bending or reshaping of the lens to accommodate multifocal vision clarity.
What you should know before opting for cataract surgery with Lifestyle IOL
- A multifocal lens has two points of focus, where each point pertains to providing vision on a different focal point, which is generally near and far.
- This type of lens is not similar to the lens of a young person. The lens of a younger person is able to change shape and induce a focal point change. But as people age, this flexibility of the lens reduces. A multifocal lens is only similar in function to a younger person’s lens. Therefore a lifestyle lens can only compensate for this lack of natural ability of the lens to reshape itself.
- There are two types of lifestyle lenses – diffractive an refractive.
What are the side effects of this surgery?
There are no exclusive side effects of a multifocal lens implant. Most of the side effects of this type of surgery are associated with the ones with a general cataract surgery. A qualified LASIK or laser eye surgery clinic such as Houston LASIK & Eye in Houston can provide more information on this.
Is a multifocal lens implant prescribed for all patients?
A good eye clinic will always base a treatment strategy based on a case to case basis. Although suitable for more patients, this treatment is not recommended for patients with retinal problems such as macular pucker or diabetic retinopathy.
Patients whose eyes have undergone extensive corneal refractive surgeries may require additional refractive surgeries after this surgery. This is to increase the effectiveness of the multifocal lens implantation. Again, it depends on the patient’s eye condition and only an experienced eye doctor can provide the right diagnosis.
Conclusion
A cataract surgery with lifestyle intraocular lens has major benefits. It is a safe and effective procedure if done in established eye clinics.
Houston LASIK & Eye leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS, and Air Force fighter pilots. At Houston LASIK & Eye, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478.
