Cataract surgery implants are used to replace the eye’s lens during cataract surgery.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens. Over time, almost everyone will develop a cataract as they age. When this clouding of the lens begins to affect a patient’s vision, cataract surgery to insert a lens implant is often recommended.

Cataract Surgery involves surgically removing the cloudy lens from within the eye, and replacing it with a cataract lens implant. This procedure is very quick and usually painless. Many patients are able to return to normal activities very quickly after surgery.

New types of cataract lens implants are being created each year. Many of the newest lenses are called “Premium Lenses” or “Lifestyle IOL’s” because they often cost a premium and improve patient’s quality of life.

There are many types of cataract surgery lens implants. Each type of lens is designed for a specific purpose, although they are often mixed and matched to suit the patient’s needs. Cataract surgery implants are usually referred to as IOL’s, or intra-ocular lens.

The most common cataract surgery implant is called a “monofocal” lens. These lenses have been used for years to replace lenses removed during cataract surgery. Monofocal lenses are single distance viewing lenses that require glasses after the surgery. While very safe, these lenses often leave patients very dependent on their glasses to do certain tasks after surgery.

The next generation of cataract implants after monofocal lenses produced multifocal lenses. Multifocal lenses have multiple zones or regions that allow the patient to view multiple distances without the lens changing shape. Much like bifocals, multifocal lenses were a huge advance in cataract surgery implant lenses.

The current generation of cataract implants is called accommodating lenses. Like multifocal lenses, accommodating lenses offer the potential ability to see at all distances without glasses. Unlike multifocal lenses, accommodating lenses move within the eye to change shape and allow for focusing at multiple distances. Accommodating IOL’s are the newest cataract surgery lens implant, but patients seem to be becoming more and more open to them.

The future looks very bright for cataract surgery implants. With many new lens designs and materials in the works, the field of cataract surgery lens implants is expected to grow dramatically over the next decade.