Posted by: North Georgia Eye Associates in Blog,Cataracts
Is it time to have cataract surgery? If cataracts affect your ability to see clearly, cataract surgery can restore all vision loss caused by cataracts.
Cataract surgeons typically recommend having the procedure as soon as cataracts begin affecting patients’ quality of life. Are you unable to participate in your favorite hobbies?
Do you find even simple tasks like making dinner and laundry challenging because of impaired vision? These are some common signs that it’s time to consider cataract surgery and improve your quality of life.
But this is only one side of the coin. Before you can have cataract surgery, you also need to choose an intraocular lens. Intraocular lenses, or IOLs, are artificial lenses that replace the natural lens and ensure you can see clearly after cataract surgery.
But not all IOLs are created equal. Certain IOLs will provide you with incredible vision and eliminate the need for visual aids, including reading glasses.
North Georgia Eye Associates is excited to offer our cataract patients the Light Adjustable Lens. The Light Adjustable Lens can provide exceptional, fully customized vision.
That means you can see better than you ever could, even before you had cataracts. Keep reading to discover why the Light Adjustable Lens can innovate your vision and give you the most life-changing results after cataract surgery!
Understanding IOLs
Before you can understand what the Adjustable Lens is and what makes it so innovative, you first need a foundation regarding what an IOL is and why it’s necessary. When you have cataract surgery, your natural lens is completely removed.
Removing your natural lens would make you unable to see clearly, so your lens is replaced with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens. The intraocular lens helps you see clearly but can also provide you with better vision.
That includes better vision than you had before cataracts formed. There are different kinds of IOLs.
Monofocal IOLs
Monofocal IOLs are the standard option included with the cost of cataract surgery. Monofocal IOLs are the only IOLs covered by insurance, making them the most affordable.
These lenses are uniform all over and can be set to one refractive power, letting you see well up close or far away. You’ll still need glasses to see at the opposite distance.
Freedom IOLs
However, there are other options besides monofocals called freedom IOLs. Freedom IOLs are more advanced lenses designed to correct your vision better than monofocal lenses.
Freedom IOLs allow you to see more clearly at a broader range of distances. They can also significantly reduce and even eliminate the need for reading glasses, prescription glasses, and contact lenses, giving you more visual freedom.
We offer several different freedom IOLs, but the Light Adjustable Lens is undoubtedly the most revolutionary.
What is the Light Adjustable Lens?
The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) is a unique, highly advanced IOL. It’s the only IOL that can give you fully customized vision.
This is because the Light Adjustable Lens is made of a light-sensitive material that changes shape when exposed to UV light, allowing it to adjust its shape after implantation in the eye. No other IOL is capable of this.
Other IOLs, even freedom IOLs, are chosen based on a patient’s vision before cataract surgery. But your vision is often slightly different after cataract surgery since you no longer have cataracts.
Your cataract surgeon can usually predict some of these changes. However, their prescription choice may not be 100% precise.
But with the Light Adjustable Lens, you can feel confident the prescription will be, as the lens is adjusted after cataract surgery, ensuring there’s enough time to heal. This allows the Light Adjustable Lens to give you amazingly clear vision tailored to your exact needs.
How Does the Light Adjustable Lens Work?
You’ll begin by having the Light Adjustable Lens implanted in your eye during cataract surgery. The procedure is the same as it would be with any IOL.
However, things are slightly different once the Light Adjustable Lens is implanted and you’ve finished recovering. You’ll be able to start receiving light treatments with a Light Delivery Device.
The Light Delivery Device uses UV light to fine-tune the shape of your Light Adjustable Lens. You’ll receive multiple treatments that will gradually change the shape of the lens.
After each treatment, you can test drive your vision and adjust it as necessary. Most patients need 2-3 treatments to achieve their desired visual goals.
Treatments are given three days apart to allow you to test your vision and let your eyes adjust. Once your vision is where you want it to be, you’ll receive two final treatments to lock in the shape of the Light Adjustable Lens. Your vision will be permanent and customized to your exact, one-of-a-kind needs.
Benefits of the Light Adjustable Lens
The Light Adjustable Lens is the only IOL that gives patients the power of customization. It’s also the only IOL you can test and adjust to ensure it suits your vision.
The Light Adjustable Lens also helps you see well at various distances, including up close and at a distance. By being tailored to your vision and having a depth of focus, the Light Adjustable Lens can significantly reduce the need for visual aids, including reading glasses.
With the Light Adjustable Lens, you’ll have better vision and more freedom!
Candidates for the Light Adjustable Lens
The Light Adjustable Lens is worth considering if you need cataract surgery and want better vision. However, potential candidates for this IOL need to know that UV protection glasses are required.
You’ll have to wear them all the time unless you’re showering, washing your face, or sleeping. Wearing the UV protection glasses ensures that the Light Adjustable Lens will not accidentally change its shape.
Once you have your final light treatments, your vision with the Light Adjustable Lens will be locked in, and the UV protection glasses will no longer be necessary. However, if you can take these post-surgical precautions and think you’d be a good candidate, why not request an appointment today at North Georgia Eye Associates in Gainesville, GA?
