Posted: August 10, 2011
Regardless of how many carrots you eat, your vision is likely to diminish with age. It's a fact of life.
Fortunately, cataract surgery can vastly improve vision and preserve your range of activities. When a patient has cataract surgery, the cloudy lens that is causing vision problems is replaced with an artificial one. The new lens is called an intraocular lens (IOL).
The most common type of lens is a monofocal IOL. A monofocal lens is able to provide clear vision either at distance or at near, but not both simultaneously. With a monofocal lens, the patient continues to be dependent upon glasses or contact lenses for certain activities. For example, a patient who chooses a monofocal lens for clear distance vision will rely on reading glasses for all near activities.
At InFocus Eye Care, patients may opt for a new type of IOL, known as a premium or lifestyle lens, allowing patients to have clear vision at distance, near, and everything in-between.
There are two kinds of lifestyle lenses: multi-focal and accommodating. Multi-focal lenses have fixed viewing regions whereas accommodating lenses move or bend inside the eye to provide multiple-distance viewing. Premium or lifestyle lenses are not generally covered by insurance, and therefore are a higher cost than a monofocal lens at the time of surgery. However, they are an investment for your future, as they don't require the additional expense of glasses or contact lenses that a monofocal lens would require.
InFocus Eye Care offers the ReSTOR multi-focal lens and the Crystalens accommodating lens, along with the toric lens to correct astigmatism. Schedule a consultation with one of our surgeons, Dr. Ida Alul or Dr. Patricia Buehler, to find out if a new lifestyle lens may enhance your vision and allow you to better enjoy your lifestyle.
