Premium IOLs

For many patients, a monofocal IOL is the ideal option for achieving the best possible vision after cataract surgery. For some people, your best vision will come with the use of a premium IOL. Your surgeon will talk to you about the different types of IOLs that are appropriate for your eyes – not everyone is a good candidate for a premium IOL.

The additional cost of premium IOLs is generally not covered by insurance companies. In most cases, you will have to pay the additional fees for a premium lens prior to your cataract surgery. If the possibility of reducing your dependence on glasses is important to you, you should consider the many benefits of premium IOLs.

The surgeons at the Eye Center of Central Georgia have several premium lens options available:

Clareon ® Toric IOL

Cataracts occur when proteins build up in your eye's natural lens, causing cloudy vision and making everyday tasks, like driving, using a computer, or recognizing familiar faces, more difficult.² Astigmatism is a separate, common eye condition that happens when the cornea's surface has an uneven curvature, resembling a football rather than a basketball. This irregularity results in blurred vision at all distances and challenges in seeing fine details.²

By choosing a toric intraocular lens, you can effectively address the vision problems caused by cataracts and astigmatism simultaneously.¹

If you have cataracts and astigmatism, you could be a candidate for an astigmatism-correcting IOL. Nearly 40% of people with cataracts also require astigmatism correction.³ Talk to your surgeon to find out if you're a candidate for any of the Clareon® astigmatism-correcting lens options.

Clareon ® Vivity ® IOL

Clareon® Vivity® is an EDOF IOL, or Extended Depth of Focus intraocular lens. It is a type of lens that is used to replace the natural lens of the eye during cataract surgery.

This type of lens is designed to provide a continuous range of vision from near to intermediate with functional near vision, reducing the need for glasses or contact lenses.^4,5 EDOF lenses work by creating a gentle blending of the light that enters the eye.⁴ EDOF lenses are a great option for people who want to reduce their dependence on glasses or contact lenses after cataract surgery.^4,5
The Clareon® Vivity® could be a good option if you:

• Want to reduce their dependence on glasses: EDOF lenses are designed to provide good vision at far and intermediate distances, which can reduce the need for glasses or contacts.^4,5
• Have realistic expectations: While EDOF lenses can improve vision at multiple distances, they may not completely eliminate the need for glasses or contacts, and some patients may experience visual side effects such as halos or glare.⁴
• Are willing to pay some of the cost out-of-pocket: EDOF lenses are typically more expensive than other types of lenses, which may be a consideration for some patients.

Clareon ® Panoptix ® IOL

Clareon® PanOptix® is an advanced type of trifocal IOLs that uses ENLIGHTEN® technology, to help optimize vision at intermediate and distance, while still maintaining exceptional vision for both near and far distances.⁶ Like a trifocal eyeglass lens, a trifocal lens contains three different prescriptions in one lens, allowing the patient to see clearly at far, intermediate, and near distances reducing, or sometimes eliminating, the need for glasses or contacts.^6,7

Generally, trifocal IOLs are a good option for people who:

• Want to reduce their dependence on glasses: Trifocal lenses are designed to provide good vision at far, intermediate, and near distances, which can reduce the need for glasses or contacts, or even eliminate it altogether.^6,7
• Have realistic expectations: While trifocal lenses can improve vision at multiple distances, they may not completely eliminate the need for glasses or contacts, and some patients may experience visual side effects such as halos or glare.
• Are willing to pay some of the cost out-of-pocket: Trifocal intraocular lenses are typically more expensive than other types of lenses, which may be a consideration for some patients.

RxSight ® Light-Adjustable Lens

The First and Only Lens That Can Be Customized AFTER Cataract Surgery 

With traditional intraocular lenses (IOLs), your physician performs measurements before your surgery in order to select the best IOL to try to achieve your vision goals. Once your surgery is complete and the IOL has been implanted, your physician has limited options to adjust the lens power.  

With the RxSight™ Light Adjustable Lens, you and your doctor can now customize your vision after your eye has healed from cataract surgery. This is because the Light Adjustable Lens is made of a special photosensitive material that changes the shape and power of your implanted lens in response to ultraviolet (UV) light. You and your physician will have the unique ability to adjust and preview your vision until it meets your personal desires and lifestyle requirements. 

The cataract removal and IOL implantation procedure is the same as if you selected a non-adjustable IOL. Then, in the weeks that follow, your physician will customize your vision through a series of non-invasive light treatments that take only a few minutes each. You may need 3 to 5 total light treatments over a period of 1 to 2 weeks to reach your vision goals. Once your vision is adjusted, a final light treatment is used to lock in the results.

The Light Adjustable Lens delivers superior vision outcomes that non-adjustable IOLs cannot match. In a clinical study, the majority of patients who received the Light Adjustable Lens achieved 20/20 or better vision at 6 months without glasses.⁸

Exposure to indoor and outdoor sources of UV light can cause uncontrolled changes to the Light Adjustable Lens until all light treatments are completed. To prevent this, patients must wear special UV protective glasses provided by RxSight during all waking hours (from time of lens implantation until 24 hours after the final lock-in light treatment is completed). 

The clear pair of protective glasses must be worn indoors, and the tinted pair must be worn in all bright sunlight conditions. The glasses may be removed when sleeping, and may be temporarily removed when showering, washing the face, or applying eye drops as long as the patient is not exposed to direct sunlight.  

Unprotected exposure to UV light during this period can result in unpredictable changes to the Light Adjustable Lens, which might necessitate removal of the lens.

1. Clareon® Toric Directions for Use.
2. Cataracts. Mayo Clinic website. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditionals/cataracts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353790. Updated June 23, 2018. Accessed April 6, 2021.
3. Núñez MX, Henriquez MA, Escaf LJ, et al. Consensus on the management of astigmatism in cataract surgery. Clin Ophthalmol. 2019;13:311-324. Published 2019 Feb 11.
4. Clareon® Vivity® Extended Vision Hydrophobic IOL (CNWET0) Directions for Use – USA.
5. Alcon Data on File, 2019.
6. Clareon® PanOptix® Trifocal Hydrophobic Acrylic IOL Model CNWTT0 2021 Directions for Use.
7. Zhu D, Ren S, Mills K, Hull J, Dhariwal M. Rate of Complete Spectacle Independence with a Trifocal Intraocular Lens: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis. Ophthalmol Ther. 2023;12(2):1157-1171.
8. US Food and Drug Administration. Summary of Safety and Effectiveness (SSED) of Light Adjustable Lens and Light Delivery Device system.