Implants

Your Intraocular Lens (IOL)

An intraocular lens (IOL) is the replacement lens that is surgically implanted in the eye to replace the existing clouded lens during cataract surgery. Traditionally, the replacement lens used for cataract surgery was a Monofocal IOL, or standard IOL. This type of lens restores good functional distance vision, but you would still need to continue wearing glasses for reading. And if you have astigmatism, you may still experience blurred and distorted vision because a standard IOL cannot correct corneal astigmatism. To achieve quality distance vision with a standard IOL, you may still require eyeglasses, contact lenses, or further surgery. The good news is that you’ve encountered cataracts at a time when intraocular lens technology has taken great leaps of progress. New-generation lenses could allow you to see well at all distances without the help of contact lenses, bifocals, or reading glasses.

We offer the two following premium lenses:

1. Multifocal IOLs, or advanced technology IOLs, are a newer type of lens that treat multiple focal points and reduce or eliminate the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses after cataract surgery. Part of the rapid evolution in IOL innovations, these newer lenses are made from cutting-edge materials with unique features. This is made possible through highly specialized optics that divide light and focus it on more than one point to provide a range from near to far eyesight.
   
   The Alcon AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL is a breakthrough lens for cataract surgery that lets patients see from near to far, to everywhere in between – usually without glasses. An innovative optical technology called “apodization” makes the AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® lens uniquely effective, especially when placed in both eyes. A similar technology has been used for years in microscopes and telescopes to improve image quality and has now been patented for use in intraocular lenses by Alcon.
   
   Four out of five AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® lens recipients reported never wearing glasses after having the lens placed in both eyes. Most patients find that they can read a book, work on the computer, drive a car – day or night – and play golf or tennis with increased freedom from glasses. You may, however, experience visual disturbances. Additionally, some side effects with the AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL may make it difficult to see in low lighting conditions. As a result, increased care should be taken when driving at night.
   
   
2. Astigmatism-Correcting IOLs, or Toric IOLs, are for patients with existing corneal astigmatism, which occurs when the surface of the cornea has an uneven curvature – a common irregularity resulting in blurred or distorted vision. The traditional replacement lens implanted when a cataract is removed clears the vision, but cannot correct the astigmatism. If freedom from eyeglasses for distance vision is important to you, you now have a better option.
   
   The unique design of the Alcon Acrysof® IQ Toric IOL provides significantly improved distance vision and may reduce the need for corrective lenses. It is a foldable, single-piece lens that an eye surgeon implants during cataract surgery to replace the clouded lens. The latest in a long line of IOL innovations from Alcon, the new AcrySof® IQ Toric lens takes the most trusted platform for precise astigmatism correction and adds the enhanced image quality of an aspheric lens.  [An aspheric lens is an IOL that is designed to correct spherical aberrations (a change in curvature between the center and edge of your pupil that causes multiple focal points and blurry vision.)]

Referred to as “the emerging standard” and a "triumphant moment in cataract surgery," the AcrySof® IQ Toric IOL corrects for cataracts with pre-existing astigmatism simultaneously by delivering more precise, predictable outcomes and quality distance vision—often without the need for glasses following surgery.

IOL implant information is ©2011 Alcon, Inc.