Accommodative Lenses
These newer IOL types reduce the need for glasses or contact lenses.
- The design of the accommodative lens allows certain eye muscles to move the IOL forward and backward, changing the focus much as it would with a natural lens, allowing near and distance vision.
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The ability to read and perform other tasks without glasses varies from person to person but is generally best when multifocal or accommodative IOLs are placed in both eyes.
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It usually takes 6 to 12 weeks after surgery on the second eye for the brain to adapt and vision improvement to be complete with either of these IOL types.
Following surgery, optimal results will not be immediately apparent. You might not see your full visual outcome for one to three months. Most find that their vision continues to improve with time.
A 12 point font shown here should be a reasonable expectation for uncorrected near vision in the majority of patients.
+1.00 and +1.50 readers may be needed to see fine print, read a book, or perform complex near vision tasks.
For certain levels of astigmatism, it may be necessary to have another procedure to treat this condition following or during surgery.
Sometimes an enhancement is needed to fine tune your surgery. An enhancement is usually not advised until 3 months after your initial surgery
Considerations with Accommodative IOLs
For many people, these IOL types reduce but do not eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. For example, a person can read without glasses, but the words appear less clear than with glasses.
Each person's success with these IOLs may depend on the size of his/her pupils and other eye health factors. People with astigmatism can ask their eye surgeon about toric IOLs and related treatments.
Side effects such as glare or halos around lights, or decreased sharpness of vision (contrast sensitivity) may occur, especially at night or in dim light. Most people adapt to and are not bothered by these effects, but those who frequently drive at night or need to focus on close-up work may be more satisfied with monofocal IOLs.