IOL’s in Cataract & Refractive Surgery


IOL’s or Intraoccular Lenses are used in both cataract and refractive surgery to correct visual defects.  They replace the natural lens in the eye when problems occur, such as clouding experienced in cataracts. They can also be added in with the natural lens in corrective surgery, to improve the refractive or optical power of the eye.

Cataracts occur mostly in the over 65’s, due to a build up of proteins in the lens of the eye, causing vision to become cloudy. Cataract removal is now the most common type of eye surgery in America. The most widely performed surgical technique for removal of cataracts is called phacoemulsification. It can be split into two stages, firstly breaking the clouded lens with an ultrasonic probe and sucking the bits out. Secondly, a replacement for the lens is added, known as an IOL.

There has been a recent improvement in the IOL’s used in cataract surgery. Prior to a few years ago, standard IOL’s were used which provided a good fit, however only corrected long distance vision. This required the patient to wear reading glasses for close viewing. The emergence of new premium IOL’s now allows patients to regain the majority of both types of vision, long distance and up close.

There are two main types of premium IOL available. The multifocal lens has a number of different focussing powers arranged as concentric circles, allowing the patient to see objects at different distances. The second or true IOL is flexible, allowing it to bend and flex. This allows the patient to see object both near and close, as the true IOL acts just as the natural lens did before it. Bothe lenses have their advantages however the true IOL is often seen as the best option, due to its ability to mimic the true lens.

IOL’s are not just confined to cataract surgery. They can be used in refractive surgery to correct the vision of patients who have severe myopia or short sight. In this case the IOL is added in front of the natural lens to increase the focussing power of the eye.

Finally, in some cases phacoemulsification is combined with LASIK surgery in a procedure called bioptics. This combination is used to provide the patient with the best possible visual outcome at both near and far distances. Sometimes after implanting the premium IOL, the vision of the patient is still not quite right. This problem can then be corrected by using LASIK to trim away part of the cornea.

In the end, premium IOL’s are always the best option in lens replacement. They offer patients a wide variation in focussing ability, effectively restoring their sight to normal. This is what we should be aiming for as more and more people undergo this procedure every year.

3rd November 2009

 

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