When you have cataract surgery, you don’t just lose the cloudy lens, you also get better vision as your new intraocular lens (IOL) is customized to correct refractive errors. The doctors at Pacific Eye, with offices in San Luis Obispo, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, and Santa Maria, California, as well as Optical Concepts in Santa Maria, have helped many patients achieve significantly improved vision by choosing the right IOL for their eyes and health. If you have cataracts and would like to learn more about your lens replacement options, call or schedule an appointment online today.
An IOL is an artificial lens that’s implanted into your eye. One type of intraocular lens is designed to correct nearsightedness by inserting the IOL while keeping the natural lens in place. However, most IOLs are used to replace the lens that’s removed during cataract surgery.
Cataracts develop as you get older and proteins in the lens start to break down, turning the lens from clear to cloudy. The problem progresses slowly — it can take 10-20 years before cataracts affect your vision.
At first, eyeglasses and appropriate lighting are enough to maintain your vision. Eventually, your lenses become so cloudy that you need more than eyeglasses. At that point, the only treatment is surgery to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an IOL.
The doctors at Pacific Eye stay at the forefront of eye care technology, which includes offering premium IOLs. With today’s advanced options, you can eliminate cataracts and correct refractive errors at the same time. Available options include:
Standard monofocal IOLs correct your vision at one distance, whether near, intermediate, or far. Many patients use the IOL to improve distance vision, then use reading glasses for close-up work. Others put an IOL to correct for distance in one eye and an IOL to improve near vision in the other eye.
The team at Pacific Eye offer several of the top brands of multifocal lenses, which improve distance and near vision at the same time. The lenses are made with zones set at different powers and your brain gradually learns to select the right zone.
Accommodating IOLs also let you see at multiple distances. Instead of different zones built into the IOL, these lenses use the eye’s natural muscles to flex the lens and adjust the focus at various distances.
Toric IOLs are complex lenses designed to correct astigmatism, including nearsightedness or farsightedness. Other types of premium IOLs available from Pacific Eye include lenses that protect your eyes from ultraviolet light or blue light.
If you’d like to learn more about your lens options, call Pacific Eye or book an appointment online today at one of their six offices in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Pacific Eye Surgeons has offices in San Luis Obispo, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, Orcutt, and Santa Maria, California, as well as Optical Concepts in Santa Maria.
