IOL Types
For Cataract and Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery
An intraocular lens (IOL) is an artificial lens that’s implanted during cataract or Refractive Lens Exchange surgery. IOLs come in different focusing powers, like prescription glasses or contact lenses. Your doctor will determine the power for your IOL using measurements of the length of your eye and the shape of your cornea.
Recent advances have been so significant that new-generation IOLs could allow you to see well at all distances without the help of glasses, bifocals, or reading glasses. There are several types of IOLs:
Monofocal Lenses
Monofocal IOLs are designed to provide clear vision at only one depth - usually distance. While distance vision is improved, most patients still need to wear glasses for certain tasks, such as reading or working at a computer. This type of lens is the most common type used in cataract surgery, and it is often the best option for patients.
Multifocal Lenses
These lenses are designed to provide a full range of vision, allowing you to see objects far away and up close. This lens design allows for clear distance vision (watching tv or driving), and near vision (reading or using your phone), and intermediate vision (computer work). They help provide more independence from glasses for daily tasks after having cataract surgery.
Extended Depth-of-Focus (EDOF) Lenses
These lenses have one corrective zone, but it’s wider than a monofocal lens and allows distance and intermediate vision. Patients with EDOF IOLs still need glasses for their best possible near vision, but many people find that they can see well enough for many tasks without glasses.
Toric Lenses
These lenses are designed to correct existing astigmatism. Toric lenses allow the surgeon to orient the lens inside the eye to correct astigmatism, and are available in monofocal, extended depth-of-focus, and multifocal lenses. If you choose a monofocal toric IOL, you will still need to wear glasses for tasks such as reading or working at a computer.
Light-Adjustable Lenses
The power of this lens can be modified after surgery, including adjustments for astigmatism. Your surgeon can adjust the lens to compensate for any leftover refractive error after your eye heals from surgery. This allows for maximum independence from glasses after surgery.
Which IOL is the best value for you?
Most insurance companies will cover the cost of a standard monofocal IOL. These lenses have been used for decades, and are the most popular type of IOL. Most people are happy with their vision with monofocal IOLs.
The other types of lenses are considered premium lenses, and can reduce the need for contacts or glasses. They require extra out-of-pocket costs above what insurance covers. For some people, the ability to read or drive or perform other tasks with maximum independence from glasses is important and worth the additional cost.
Do you spend a lot of time working on a computer or looking at your phone or tablet? Do you love to read without glasses? Do you find yourself constantly misplacing your glasses and struggling to see without them? Have you got high astigmatism? You might be happier with a premium IOL than with the standard monofocal IOL. Click here to learn more about the premium IOL options available.