Gearing up for undergoing cataract surgery? If you have chosen the right doctor for yourself, he or she may have suggested making a decision related to the type of lens you wish to implant inside the eye.
Choosing the right lens for cataract surgery is not as easy as it seems. Don’t worry as this article covers the major pointers including budget and lifestyle that can help you make an informed decision. Even though you can make the choice, it is vital that you go through a discussion with your ophthalmologist so that your vision is cleared for once and all.
Why is it important to choose a lens for cataract surgery?
The decision of choosing the lens is of utmost importance as this will be the lens that is going to be there inside the eye for your lifetime. Cataract surgery involves replacing the cloudy natural lens of the eye with an artificial one. Once the natural lens is removed, it is pivotal that the right lens is placed so that there is no discomfort while trying to see. In addition to this, the appropriate lens affects the decision of whether you need to continue wearing eyeglasses even after the surgery to some extent. According to doctors of hospitals in India similar to Pristyn Care, choosing the lens for cataract surgery first starts with the type of lens you want to implant.
Types of Lenses For Cataract Surgery
The lenses that are placed inside the eye once the cloudy natural lens is removed are known as intraocular lenses. Generally, there are two types of intraocular lenses that the surgeon recommends as replacement options- monofocal lenses (these have fixed focal length) and multifocal lenses (these have accommodative focal length).
| Types of Lens | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Monofocal lenses | ● Cost-effective than other types of lenses
● Toric lens, a type of monofocal lens, corrects astigmatism. ● You need to wear glasses only when driving at night. |
● Cannot cure both blurry visions for objects placed far and distant.
● May not be suitable for everyone. ● Vision may still be blurry even after the surgery. |
| Multifocal lenses | ● Around 85 percent of people after the surgery don’t need to wear glasses for both near and far vision.
● Covers a great range of distance which means both visions are corrected. |
● People with multifocal lenses often complain of glare or halos around lights.
● After the cataract surgery, people report there is a loss of contrast, especially in low light situations. ● Maximum number of private insurers do not pay the costs of the lens and associated services. |
With time, a lot of premium lenses have been introduced in the market that can correct the vision. However, these lenses tend to be a little expensive.
- Toric multifocal lenses- Toric lenses that are generally used to cure astigmatism are now available with varying focal lengths.
- Extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) IOLs- These lenses cover an extra zone of focus that allows distance vision.
Choosing Artificial Lens After Cataract Surgery
When you have to make the decision for choosing an artificial lens after the cataract surgery, ask the following questions to yourself. This will help you in reaching a decision.
- What kind of lifestyle do you follow?- Lifestyle practices is the first factor to take into consideration when choosing the lens. For instance, in case your job demands you to spend a lot of time looking at the screen or you prefer reading without glasses, try a monofocal IOL lens with a certain power set for near vision. While on the other hand, if you have to watch TV or drive, you can try the monofocal lens set for far vision.
Another common phenomenon that is often prescribed by doctors is ‘monovision’. In monovision, one set of monofocal lenses in one eye are set for distance and the other lens is set for near vision. The brain accordingly adapts to the information passed from both the eyes and helps in seeing.
- Are you suffering from astigmatism?- In case you are suffering from astigmatism, (an eye condition in which the cornea is not curved uniformly) this results in distortion of the eye signals sent to the brain. As the lens is unable to focus the light that enters the eye, the person is not able to see objects that are placed both near and afar. For such circumstances, the distortion is correction with toric intraocular lenses.
- What is the cost I would like to spend on the lens?– Remember, the expense is one of the primary factors that you need to consider while making the decision of choosing a lens. Generally, most of the insurances don’t cover the latest premium range of lenses such as multifocal, accommodative IOLs, etc. Several insurance companies cover only the most common type of intraocular lenses which is the monofocal lens. If you are comfortable wearing glasses even after the surgery, then choose the monofocal as it is most-effective.
Do you need to wear eyeglasses after cataract surgery?
It takes one to three months after the surgery for the eyes to completely heal. According to ophthalmologists from Pristyn Care, some patients may require glasses or contact lenses even after the cataract is removed. However, this may not be the case for each patient. Here are the factors that can affect the need to wear eyeglasses after cataract surgery-
- Visual needs
- The overall health of the eye
- The extent of astigmatism that you had before the surgery
- The prescription of the doctor after eye check-up
Conclusion
Eye is one of the most sensitive organs of the human body. Therefore, any intervention inside this organ is extremely crucial. The success of the cataract surgery depends majorly on the type of lens you choose to implant instead of the natural lens of the eye. Hence, it is crucial that you weigh down the pros and cons of each type of lens in order to get a better vision. Also, it is important to pay attention to the doctor’s suggestions as they have more knowledge and experience pertaining to the same. Therefore, consult with an eye doctor to have a better understanding of your options.
