BA50 TalkersCataract surgery can be a challenging experience and understanding the lens options for your cataract surgery comes with plenty of decisions you’ll need to make.
Each cataract surgery lens is able to help with a different aspect of your vision. These lenses can help restore near vision, distance vision, blended options, or other vision goals. You can pick a lens that helps you achieve the type of vision you’ll be looking to have as you recover.
Let’s take a quick look at what you should know about cataracts and the lens options you’ll have.
A Quick Introduction to Cataract Surgery
Cataracts is a condition that causes the lens of the eye to become cloudy. This can reduce, significantly impair, or entirely obscure normal vision. Cataract surgery is a procedure that replaces the cloudy lens of the eye and replaces it with a clear, artificial lens.
These artificial lenses are not as sophisticated as our natural lenses. They have to be chosen to restore specific types of vision. Your new lens will help you to see as you recover from the procedure and after you’ve fully healed.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, recovery from cataract surgery can take as little as a few days or as long as several weeks. It all depends on the specifics of your surgery and how in-depth your procedure was.
Why You’ll Need Lenses After Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery often needs to remove the entire clouded lens. This leaves the eye without an essential part of our ability to see. Artificial lenses help to restore vision and the functionality of the eye.
The Lens Options After Cataract Surgery
Let’s start the process of understanding the lens options for your cataract surgery. You’ll have to pick between one of these lens options. However, you don’t have to make this complex decision alone. Your eye doctor will be able to help you determine which of these lenses is right for your condition and your post-recovery goals.
Extended Depth of Focus Implants
Extended Depth of Focus implants are the latest advancement in artificial lenses. They allow you to restore some near, intermediate, and distance vision without the blurry spots associated with Multifocal lens implants. The goal of these lenses is to restore a type of vision that feels close to natural lenses.
These lenses are also often affected by the same complications that happen with Multifocal lenses. Also like Multifocal lenses, Extended Depth of Focus implants are not suitable for patients with certain eye health conditions. Your doctor can help you determine if you are a good candidate for these lens implants.
Light Adjustable Lens Implants
Light Adjustable Lens implants are an excellent choice for patients who have complicated vision needs. These lens implants can be adjusted even after they’ve been implanted in order to help patients achieve better vision that often does not need to be supplemented with glasses.
After cataract surgery, patients with Light Adjustable Lenses will need to visit their opthamologist several times in order to get these lenses corrected. Patients also must wear special protective glasses at all times while awake to make sure that regular light does not accidentally adjust these lenses.
Monofocal Implants
Monofocal implants work just like monofocal lenses. They allow you to have a specific type of vision without glasses. Monofocal lens implants allow you to have either close or distance vision without the need for glasses. You will require glasses to supplement the type of vision that your lenses don’t cover.
This means that if you have monofocal implants designed to restore distance vision, you will need glasses for reading or using a computer. It is also possible to have one of each type of monofocal implant in each eye. This is called Blended Vision.
Multifocal Lens Implants
Multifocal lens implants allow you to see near, at medium ranges, and at a distance. Multifocal lenses give you great vision and often do not need to be supplemented with glasses.
However, there are often complications to using multifocal lenses. Common problems include glare, halos, or a lack of contrast. These complications can sometimes be spotted ahead of time, but that isn’t always the case.
Toric Implants
Astigmatism is still a problem even after cataract surgery. While this surgery, and artificial lenses, can restore some vision on their own, you’ll still need artificial lenses that work to correct this problem.
These lenses help restore vision and correct astigmatism. Astigmatism isn’t just a problem with the lens of the eye, but actually goes all the way down to the cornea. Removing the lens does not get rid of astigmatism.
You can get different types of artificial lenses in “toric versions.” These can include monofocal, multifocal, and other options.
Wrapping Up Cataract Surgery Lenses
The key to understanding the lens options for your cataract surgery is knowing that each lens delivers on a different type of vision. You’ll want to consult with your eye doctor about your post-surgery goals in order to decide on the right lens for you and your needs.