Cataract patients have a number of high technology treatment options available. One of those is Crystalens®, one type of intraocular lens implants (IOLs) developed by Bausch + Lomb.

Crystalens is designed for patients who also suffer from presbyopia, a natural loss of vision due to age. Traditional IOLs are fixed within the eye and only provide singular vision correction (usually distance correction). Crystalens can allow cataract patients to enjoy a wider, more natural range of vision for most normal activities such as reading, working on the computer, doing housework or driving a car.

Most daily activities, such as writing a letter, ironing clothes and seeing products and prices on the grocery store aisles require clear intermediate vision (a distance range between 26 and 32 inches). Crystalens is an accommodating cataract treatment option that addresses the need for clear intermediate vision and provides patients with a continuous range of vision, from near to far.

Benefits of Crystalens

Crystalens offers a number of benefits to patients with presbyopia and cataracts, including:

• Clear intermediate vision. Clinical data shows that 100 percent of Crystalens® patients had good intermediate vision (26″ to 32″).
• More improved vision over traditional IOL lenses. The FDA safety and effectiveness clinical data on the most recent multifocal IOL lenses shows that at a distance of 70 cm (27.5″), the percentage of eyes achieving 20/20 or better uncorrected vision and 20/25 or better distance corrected vision was “significantly worse” than the control group.
• Little to no gap in range of vision. Multifocal lens technology is based on splitting light rays between distances to emphasize near and distance vision, while providing little or no support for intermediate vision. Consequently, the vision provided by multifocal is stepped, requiring patients to overcome a gap in their range of vision.
• Clear vision at any distance. The Crystalens® uses the eye’s natural focusing muscles to accommodate the full range of vision. As a result, 100 percent of the light rays are focused at each distance so patients see clearly near, far and everything in between.

Are You a Candidate for Crystalens?

If you are in good general health, you are a likely candidate for implant surgery. If you suffer from uncontrolled chronic health problems such as diabetes or chronic infections, you may need to wait for your health condition to get under control before you are able to undergo the surgery.

Patients who have had vision correction surgery such as LASIK are also eligible for Crystalens, but patients who have had previous cataract surgery are not a candidate for the procedure.

If a patient is in their late 40s and 50s – even early sixties, and no cataracts are known and they are interested in reducing dependence on glasses, Key-Whitman offers a free consult for Crystalens or LASIK. For more information about Crystalens and other cataract treatment options at Key-Whitman, please contact us.