Specialty Lenses (IOL’s)
When a person has cataract surgery, the natural lens in the eye is removed and replaced with a man-made lens (IOL). A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens that occurs with age and replacing the cloudy lens with a clear lens gives clearer vision. There are many different types of IOLs available. A standard IOL will give clear vision, but generally glasses are still needed to see near and /or far. With Advanced Technology IOLs, also known as Premium IOLs, we can often reduce or eliminate dependence on glasses or contact lenses.
Toric IOLs
These lens implants correct astigmatism in the patient’s eye. Many people have a cornea that is not perfectly spherical in shape. This asymmetric curvature is called astigmatism. Astigmatism can be corrected in glasses, contact lenses, or in the eye itself with a Toric IOL. When cataract surgery is performed, measurements before surgery will determine how much astigmatism is in the surface of your eye (the cornea). This may not be at all the same as what is in your pre-surgical glasses or contact lenses. If you have significant astigmatism, and you prefer not to be dependent on glasses/contacts, a Toric IOL will correct the astigmatism and provide clear vision at either distance or near. Toric IOLs are not multifocal, so they have to be set for a particular type of vision without glasses (near vision or distance vision clear without glasses). Often we will set one eye for distance and the other for near, so that the patient can see both far and near without glasses—this is called monovision.
Multifocal IOLs (Restor multifocal)
These lenses provide good uncorrected near and distance vision. With this IOL in both eyes a patient usually does not need glasses most of the time. There are rings of different power in the lens so that both near and far vision are in focus. The Restor Multifocal IOL have been widely used for many years with excellent results. The Restor Multifocal can now provide astigmatism correction (Restor Toric Multifocal). Please click on either option above.
