People with cataracts — a clouding of the eyes’ natural lenses — often have additional vision impairments such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. Cataracts typically affect people in their golden years, who often depend on reading glasses due to presbyopia.
When you have cataract surgery at Boston Eye Physicians and Surgeons (BEPS), you have several options to improve your vision at the same time the cataract is removed. Our doctors are leading experts in the ophthalmology field and will match you with the IOL that will give you the best visual outcome.
A cataract forms when the proteins inside your natural eye lens clump together and create a cloudy film that blurs and distorts vision, eventually causing blindness. Cataracts are highly treatable with cataract surgery, which replaces the clouded eye lens with an artificial intraocular lens implant (IOL). Traditionally, monofocal IOLs are used for the procedure to correct your vision at one fixed focal distance so you can view objects nearby, in the distance or in the intermediate zone but not all three. Premium IOLs offer better vision correction at all distances, including astigmatism and age-related near vision loss (presbyopia).
Premium Toric Lenses for Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a refractive error that causes distorted, blurry vision at all focal points because of a misshapen cornea that is more egg-shaped than spherical. Your eye is measured in four meridians, or sections. Astigmatism causes one part to be flat while another meridian is steep, making it difficult for your eye to focus light correctly onto the retina.
Premium toric IOLs work like toric contact lenses. They are designed with different strengths to accommodate your cornea. These IOLs have markings on the side of the implant to help our eye surgeons place the IOL in the correct orientation during cataract surgery. At BEPS, we offer various FDA-approved brands of toric lenses for full vision correction with premium lenses.
Extended Depth of Focus Intraocular Lens Options
Extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOLs go beyond correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. These artificial lenses can reduce or eliminate your dependence on the reading glasses you rely on because of presbyopia.
Presbyopia is the natural loss of crisp near vision that occurs as you get older (usually after age 40). Your eye lens works like a camera and requires flexibility to adjust for good eyesight when you glance from something nearby to an object far away. As you age, your natural lens loses that elasticity and hardens, making it difficult to read small print near your face, such as a menu or text message.
Tecnis Synergy IOL
The Synergy EDOF IOL provides a wide range of continuous vision so you can seamlessly switch between reading small text near your face to viewing something in the distance. This lens corrects all refractive errors, including presbyopia, and offers better contrast for daytime and nighttime with detailed vision in low-lighting conditions. Tecnis Synergy removes the gaps in vision that come with trifocal or multifocal IOLs, and the technology reduces visual disturbances such as halos around lights when you drive at night.
Tecnis Symfony IOL
Enjoy sharp, continuous eyesight as you glance from near to intermediate to far distances — people who choose Tecnis Symfony IOL experience high-quality correction for astigmatism and rely less on reading glasses. The Symfony IOL provides visual independence for all lighting conditions. In clinical trials, 85 percent of patients with Symfony rarely needed to use their reading glasses, if at all. This IOL may offer less night glare and fewer starbursts and halos around lights than traditional IOLs.
Alcon Vivity IOL
Alcon Vivity IOL corrects for the same refractive errors as other EDOF lenses but uses a different technology and technique for sharp eyesight. Other IOLs that correct presbyopia do so by splitting the light into different zones, but Vivity IOL utilizes x-wave technology to bend the light as it comes through the lens for a broader range of vision correction than traditional monofocal IOLs. Patients with Vivity may still need reading glasses after cataract surgery.
Schedule Your Eye Exam in Boston to Learn More About Premium IOLs
Our eye surgeons will fit you with the best intraocular lens implant for you and your lifestyle during your consultation for cataract surgery. Contact Boston Eye Physicians and Surgeons today via phone or email.
