Baby Boomers and seniors in can benefit from lens implants
Special to the Breeze
There are three million cataract surgeries performed every year; however, only a small fraction of people realize that not all intraocular lens implants are the same.
A cataract is the clouding of your eye’s normally clear lens, blocking the passage of light needed for vision. The only treatment for cataracts is to remove the clouded natural crystalline lens and replace it with a lens implant to restore lost vision. Area Cataract Specialist Jonathan M. Frantz, MD, FACS, Florida Eye Health, offers his patients the choice of several intraocular lens implants (IOL), including a monofocal IOL (single vision) and a variety of premium lenses that he refers to as CustomLens Implants.
“Bad vision doesn’t have to be a part of getting older and people don’t have to live with vision loss from cataracts,” said Dr. Frantz.”Cataract surgery is one of the most successful procedures available in terms of restoring your quality of life,” he added. Monofocal IOLs don’t have the ability to provide a full range of vision, so most people must wear glasses for middle and near vision. However, the CustomLens implants offer the possibility of seeing well at all distances, without glasses or contact lenses. With a CustomLens, people may read a book, drive a car, and play golf or tennis with increased freedom from glasses. The most popular CustomLens implants today are the multifocal ReSTOR and ReZoom lenses and the accommodating Crystalens.
Approximately 20 percent of patients who need cataract surgery have a clinically significant degree of preexisting astigmatism, when the front of the eye, or cornea, is not perfectly round, but instead is asymmetric shaped more like a football than a basketball. “If you have astigmatism, you may choose to have a Toric IOL which makes it possible to treat the cataract and correct the corneal astigmatism at the same time,” explained Dr. Frantz.”A person who has both a cataract and a corneal astigmatism will not regain high-quality distance vision after surgery to remove the cataract unless the astigmatism is also corrected,” he said.
“My patients who have had a CustomLens implant love that not only is their vision improved, but they hardly ever need their glasses,” said Dr. Frantz. “I think it’s important for people to understand that these exciting options exist.”
Medicare and most private insurances have covered cataract surgery with a monofocal lens for years. However, many Medicare beneficiaries don’t realize that they can choose a CustomLens implant that allows the eye to focus on near and far vision, minimizing the need for corrective lenses. If they choose a CustomLens implant, they are responsible for payment of that portion of the charge for the CustomLens and associated services that exceed the charge for a conventional monofocal lens.
Dr. Frantz has offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Lehigh Acres, and Florida. To learn more about cataract surgery and CustomLens Implants, call the main office of Florida Eye Health in Fort Myers at 418-0999 or visit: www.bettervision.net.