IOL’s

It’s a fact of life that when most people reach their forties they begin to have more difficulty reading and seeing up close. This makes reading the newspaper or working at the computer difficult. Called presbyopia, this condition until recently could only be corrected by either a pair of reading glasses/bi-focals or monovision, a correction that allows one eye to see better for distance and the other eye for near vision.

Now there are some alternatives. Dr. Bonanni can explain in greater detail at your consultation the differences between the new intraocular lenses available:

ReSTOR® lens
ReZoom lens
Crystalens®
Verisyse™ Phakic IOL

These can give you the freedom from reading glasses (and losing them) that many people desire.

ReSTOR®

The ReSTOR® lens is one of the new lenses that can be used to decrease your dependence on reading glasses or bifocals. The ReSTOR lens provides both near and distance vision, using a specific distribution of light in response to how wide or small the eye’s pupil might be. In studies, 80 percent of patients who received the ReSTOR lens implant did not use glasses for any activities after surgery. The ReSTOR lens is not designed to give perfect intermediate (computer) vision. However, Dr. Bonanni can implant the ReStor lens in one eye for reading and the ReZoom lens in the other eye to give better computer and intermediate distance vision.

ReZoom

ReZoom is a multi-focal refractive IOL (intraocular lens) that distributes light over five optical zones to provide near, intermediate, and distance vision. ReZoom typically gives patients better intermediate vision (computer-distance) than ReSTOR, but the near (reading) vision it provides tends to not be as good. However, Dr. Bonanni can implant the ReStor lens in one eye for reading and the ReZoom lens in the other eye to give better computer and intermediate distance vision.

Medicare Coverage

Medicare recognizes the important results the ReSTOR and ReZoom lenses provide and is helping to make them an affordable option to cataract patients. Medicare will now cover the cost of a cataract procedure and allow the patient to pay for the additional cost of a special lens.

Crystalens®

Crystalens® is a new and innovative lens implant that makes it possible to see all distances – far, near, and in between – seamlessly, like your natural eye. For patients 45 and over who require reading glasses or bi-focal lenses, Crystalens can greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for reading and distance glasses.

Crystalens mimics the eye’s natural ability to focus, and it can restore a wide range of vision, from distance to reading vision without total dependence on contacts or glasses. This cutting edge replacement lens is moved by the same internal eye muscle which is normally responsible for focusing. The muscle relaxes and contracts to move the lens forward and backward. This ability to move and focus makes Crystalens unlike any other lens, and gives you the ability to see as you did when you were younger.

Verisyse™ Phakic IOL

The Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is used to treat moderate to severe nearsightedness. With over 18 years of use and 150,000 procedures performed worldwide, results show that the Verisyse™ design is safe and effective for very nearsighted people who are not candidates for Custom LASIK and do not like thick glasses or wearing contact lenses.

How the Verisyse™ lens works:

The Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is placed behind your cornea in the anterior chamber of the eye and on top of your iris. This provides your eye with another focusing lens that can give high-quality, high-definition vision like a normal eye. Although the Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is intended to be permanent, the procedure is reversible if needed.

This procedure entails leaving your natural crystalline lens in the eye. This is important because your natural lens plays an important role in focusing to see objects that are near.

Refractive Lens Exchange

More and more people are choosing RLE for improved quality of life. Although RLE is similar to cataract surgery, the reasons for performing the surgery are different. RLE is performed for patients whose natural lenses have insufficient power to permit a clear vision without visual aids. RLE is recommended for patients who are not candidates for laser eye surgery.

Nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and certain other conditions can be treated with RLE. This procedure is for individuals between 45 and 75 years of age.