If you know that you need to have cataract surgery, one of the hardest parts is knowing which intraocular lens is right for you. Choosing an intraocular lens (known as an IOL) is crucial because this is what allows you to see clearly after cataract surgery.
If you’re searching for a way to achieve visual freedom and no longer want to wear glasses or contacts after cataract surgery, you may want to consider the PanOptix trifocal lens. Keep reading to learn more about this lens and if it may be the right choice for you!
What are my intraocular lens options during cataract surgery?
There are several IOLs to choose from before you have cataract surgery at Diagnostic Eye Center. IOL technology is always advancing and our surgeons are happy to offer our patients the most state-of-the-art lenses available.
Before choosing an IOL, you should understand all your options and what will be best for you. Take your lifestyle and visual needs into account before making your decision, as well as any recommendations from your ophthalmologist. Diagnostic Eye Center offers the following intraocular lens options:
Monofocal IOL
For patients that don’t mind wearing glasses after cataract surgery, the most basic option available is monofocal IOLs. With this IOL, each eye is set with one focusing distance.
This is only set for one distance: either up close, intermediate, or far away. You will still need to wear glasses after cataract surgery with this lens to see at other distances besides the one to which your monofocal lens is set.
Presbyopia-Correcting IOLs
Presbyopia-correction IOLs are a premium lens option that will allow you to see well without glasses or contacts after cataract surgery. Using advanced technology, they provide both up-close vision and distance vision at the same time.
Multifocal IOLs are set with different zones that allow your brain to adapt to this new way of seeing. Most patients find it relatively easy to see after they get used to it. Multifocal lenses can also correct astigmatism.
The TECNIS Synergy IOL provides a broad range of vision, even in low light settings.
Extended depth of focus IOLs, like the TECNIS Symfony IOL, provide patients with a full range of vision that’s sharp, clear, and easy to see, no matter what kind of lighting you’re in.
The extended depth of focus TECNIS Symfony IOL is also available in a toric model for patients with astigmatism. Patients can see clearly and reduce their dependence on reading glasses.
Vivity IOL
Another new advancement in the world of premium lenses is the Vivity IOL. The Vivity IOL uses proprietary X-Wave technology that allows patients to see at a distance and typically at intermediate or closer distances.
It also provides protection from the sun’s UV rays and filters blue light from everyday devices. This IOL is a good choice for someone that uses a computer or needs to complete other activities an arm’s length away like reading or texting on a phone.
Toric IOL
Toric IOLs are the only intraocular lenses specifically designed for people with astigmatism. Astigmatism is a refractive error that occurs when the cornea or lens is irregularly shaped.
When this occurs, you’ll experience blurry or distorted vision. Toric IOLs correct astigmatism using different optical powers in different directions. These IOLs have one focusing distance that can be set for up close, intermediate, or distance vision.
What is the PanOptix trifocal IOL?
Another premium lens option that Diagnostic Eye Center offers our patients is the PanOptix trifocal lens. This is the first and only trifocal IOL to receive FDA approval, and it’s truly revolutionary.
What makes this lens so special? As a trifocal IOL, that means it provides vision at three distances.
This includes near, intermediate, and distance vision. Before the PanOptix lens, this simply wasn’t possible.
Even with the most advanced premium lenses, cataract surgery patients experienced a gap and even visual disturbances with their intermediate vision. The PanOptix lens makes this possible because it uses ENLIGHTEN technology which splits light into three points.
ENLIGHTEN allows intermediate vision to be crystal clear without visual disturbances or gaps and without affecting the rest of your vision. The science behind the lens design is what makes ENLIGHTEN so successful.
The design of the PanOptix lens has a 3 millimeter pupil diameter, meaning it transmits 88% of light to the retina. For patients who want to complete activities like reading, texting, or putting on makeup, these are the optics that matter.
The PanOptix IOL is also perfectly suited for things that are an arm’s length away. This lens is the only single-lens design that allows for a 40 cm (16 inches) and 60 cm (24 inches) (intermediate) focal point without sacrificing how you see at a distance.
The advantages of the PanOptix trifocal IOL
Being able to comfortably complete everyday tasks that are an arm’s length away is important when you think about tasks that may be difficult to do right now. This may include:
- Reading a menu at your favorite restaurant
- Using a computer to send your grandchildren an email
- Seeing the mirror while plucking your eyebrows
They may be small tasks, but being able to do them with ease would make your life so much easier! It’s a true advantage that the PanOptix lens gives you the vision you were always meant to have, no matter what distance you’re looking at.
You can see everything around you clearly since there are no blurry zones to worry about. Love HD television? Getting the PanOptix trifocal lens allows you to experience the whole world in high-definition, since you’ll see colors as brighter and more vivid.
The PanOptix IOL will also correct your vision, reducing how often you need to wear glasses after cataract surgery. Worried about bothersome glare or halos around lights? Patients with the PanOptix IOL reported being less bothered by glare around bright lights. After all, the PanOptix lens design was created to ensure an optimal visual experience for patients, no matter what kind of lighting conditions they may be in.
Whether you’re in dim lighting or it’s sunny and bright outdoors, the PanOptix trifocal lens will perform as it should.
PanOptix is well suited for patients with astigmatism and presbyopia
The PanOptix trifocal IOL comes in a toric lens option for patients with large amounts of astigmatism and is a great option for patients with presbyopia as well.
With the toric lens option, patients with astigmatism can have their astigmatism corrected along with their cataracts. Toric lenses are often the best choice for patients with astigmatism.
There’s no reason why astigmatism should stand in your way of a premium lens like the PanOptix trifocal IOL!
Like having cataracts, presbyopia is simply a natural part of the aging process. This occurs when the lens of the eye becomes less flexible.
As a result, you’ll find it harder to focus on things that are up close and right in front of you. But for patients that choose the PanOptix IOL during refractive lens exchange (RLE) they can have their presbyopia taken care of once and for all!
During RLE, the natural lens of the eye is completely removed from the eye (much like cataract surgery) and replaced with the artificial lens. Choosing the PanOptix trifocal IOL during RLE ensures you’ll have clear vision and visual freedom.
If the PanOptix trifocal IOL sounds like it may be the right choice for you, the first step is to see your eye doctor for a cataract screening! Schedule your cataract screening with one of the expert ophthalmologists at Diagnostic Eye Center in Houston, TX now and stop living with less than perfect vision!
