schedule an appointment Freedom IOLs
If it’s time for you to undergo cataract surgery, you have a few major decisions to make. The most critical choice you face is the IOL you select for your procedure.
Intraocular lenses, or IOLs, replace your natural lens during cataract surgery. They focus light, which your natural lens could no longer do.
Gainesville Eye Associates has a complete offering of standard and freedom IOLs. We can get you the ideal IOL for your lifestyle and vision goals.
What is an IOL?
IOLs are the replacement lenses used during cataract surgery. Cataracts form in the natural lens in your eyes as proteins in the lens break down and clump together.
As they gather, they turn your lens cloudy and white. Cataracts can get so thick they block light from flowing to your retina.
At this point, they are impairing your vision, and it’s time for cataract surgery. Cataract surgery removes and replaces your natural lens with an IOL.
IOLs focus that light directly onto your retina, resulting in clear, crisp vision. The IOL you select determines the versatility of your eyesight after cataract surgery.
Freedom IOLs
There is a wide range of IOLs to choose from. Some can end your need for glasses after cataract surgery.
If you want to live glasses-free after your procedure, you need a freedom IOL. There are many freedom IOLs, but they all provide clear vision at more than one distance or focal point.
The PanOptix Trifocal IOL
The PanOptix trifocal IOL is the first-ever trifocal IOL available. Most freedom IOLs have two focal points built into the lens.
These focal points are in the material of the IOL as rings. The PanOptix trifocal has three of these rings or focal points.
As light enters your eye, the PanOptix trifocal can focus it, no matter where it is coming from. The three focal points in the lens give you a full range of vision from near to far and between.
If you want visual freedom after cataract surgery, the PanOptix trifocal IOL can give it to you. You may need reading glasses for fine print, but besides that, you will never need glasses.
The Vivity IOL
The Vivity IOL is the first and only non-diffractive extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOL. It has longer focal points than traditional freedom IOLs and does not split the light entering your eye.
The extended focal point gives you a more comprehensive range of continuous vision. And the non-diffractive X-WAVE technology used in the Vivity IOL gives you disturbance-free sight.
Most freedom IOLs have rings built into the lens. These rings have focusing power to give you clear vision at one focal point.
But, the focal points in freedom IOLs split the light that enters your eye. The result is that there are minor but noticeable gaps in your vision when transitioning between focal points.
The X-WAVE technology stretches and shifts light instead of splitting it. This stretching gives you a full range of clear vision without disturbances.
The Vivity IOL can also significantly reduce or end your need for glasses.
Toric Model IOLs
If you have astigmatism, you can get rid of it during cataract surgery. Toric model IOLs compensate for the shape of your cornea that causes astigmatism.
Most IOLs have toric models available. That means you can get the exceptional vision provided by the IOL and end your astigmatism simultaneously.
Monofocal IOLs
Monofocal or standard IOLs are the most basic type of IOL. They provide superb vision at one distance.
The downside of a monofocal IOL is that they only give you clear vision at that one distance. You will still need glasses for other distances not corrected by the IOL.
Most people correct their distance vision with a monofocal IOL. That means you still need glasses for up-close tasks like reading.
If you don’t mind using reading glasses, a monofocal IOL should suit you. If you’d like not to use glasses, you need a freedom IOL.
Are you ready for cataract surgery? Schedule an appointment at Gainesville Eye Associates in Gainesville, GA, to discuss freedom IOLs!
