How can you see as well as you did in your twenties, regardless of your age?

Multifocal IOLs

There are various ways in which modern technology can liberate people from the need glasses for distance and for near. Multifocal lenses provide simultaneous light in focus in each eye from both near objects and distance objects.

Accomodating lenses - Crystalens HD

Another option, which can work well, is the use of accommodating lenses, which simulates the lens action, which acts in young eyes. These lenses provide some ability to “pull focus” for near objects. Most people do still require spectacles for reading very fine print, however.

Accommodating lenses are an excellent option for people who do not have such a strong visual system.

Lens exchange blended vision

A final way in which presbyopic lens exchange can be used to restore the level of functional vision which people enjoy in their twenties is with a form of lens exchange blended vision.

Again, it is possible to set one eye with clear vision for distance and the other eye with clear vision for near. Again, this can work extremely well, providing a wide range of visual function and a high level of independence of the need for spectacles.

As ever, it is imperative that the technology is matched to the individual patients lifestyle, visual system, and the unique anatomy of their eye.

Multifocal lenses

There are various forms of multifocal lens technology available at present. Our preferred options are custom matching with the ReZoom multifocal lens implant and the Tecnis multifocal lens implant. We generally implant the Rezoom lens into the patients “dominant” or stronger eye and the Tecnis lens into their fellow eye.

This combination of intraocular lenses provides an excellent spread of visual function and providing each eye is accurately set for distance vision the intermediate and near vision is almost guaranteed to follow. These lens technologies are the cumulative result of 25 years of developments in intraocular lens technology.

Acrilisa IOL

Another lens, which shows great promise, is the Acrilisa IOL, which provides the majority of focus for distance but also provides a proportion of clear vision for near.

Accommodating lenses - Crystalens HD

The process of attempting to pull focus to view near objects is called accommodation. This reflex is effortless and supremely effective in our youth. We begin to lose this ability in our mid-forties due to stiffening of the natural crystalline lens inside the eyes. The muscle, which works on the crystalline lens, remains strong and active, however.

We can restore accommodation, by removing the rigid crystalline lens and replacing it with a thin, flexible artificial lens, which can flex a degree. The accommodating muscle can go to work on the flexible artificial lens. This provides some true accommodation and can provide many people with some independence from glasses, for reading menus and browsing in shops, etc.

For reading very small print, however, some of these people still need to wear reading glasses.

This can be an excellent option for certain patients, identified after a thorough examination at Custom vision Clinics.

Presbyopic lens exchange and blended vision.

It is possible to perform lens exchange in each eye and set the refraction of each eye in such a way that the spatial frequencies seen by each eye overlap effectively to provide an excellent range of function between the two eyes, such that patients have limited or no need for spectacles. This “blended vision” can be achieved either with laser eye surgery alone or with presbyopic lens exchange.

IOL Counsellor

The IOL Counsellor is designed to allow you to see the benefits of IOLs for yourself. To use, simply drag the arrow slider from the left end to the right end to see the differences. At far left, you see "normal vision", move the slider to see how vision changes with presbyopia and cataracts. On the right side you'll see how the vision can be corrected with monofocal IOLs and with Presbyopia IOLs. To see a larger version of the IOL Counselor, click here.

To schedule a consultation for PRELEX

Please call 0845 6430 466 or fill in the web form to your right and we’ll get in contact with you.