Intraocular Lens Louisville
If you are searching and typed in: Intraocular lens Louisville….here’s some information you should know.
Intraocular Lens (IOL)
Drs. Melvyn Koby, David Karp, Scott Hoffman and Albert Smolyar are now making the “premium” multi-focal intraocular lenses available to our patients having cataract surgery.
The AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL was designed to provide quality near to distance vision by combining the strengths of apodized diffractive and refractive technologies. Similar technology has been used for years in microscopes and telescopes to improve image quality and has now been patented for use in intraocular lenses by Alcon.
Apodized Diffractive
Apodization is the gradual tapering of the diffractive steps from the center to the outside edge of a lens to create a smooth transition of light between the distance, intermediate and near focal points. Diffraction involves the bending or spreading of light to multiple focal points as it passes through the lens. On the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL, the center of the lens surface consists of an apodized diffractive optic. This means that the series of tiny steps in that center area work together to focus light for near through distance vision.
The refractive region of the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL bends light as it passes through the lens to a focal point on the retina. This outer ring of the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL surrounds the apodized diffractive region and is dedicated to focusing light for distance vision.
To learn more about the ReSTOR™ IOL go to:
http://www.acrysofrestor.com
Another “premium” IOL is the Crystalens manufactured by Bausch & Lomb.
Crystalens is an accommodating intraocular lens that, unlike a standard IOL, can treat both a person’s cataracts andpresbyopia—loss of near and intermediate vision. You probably noticed in your forties that you started to lose some of your up-close vision and had to start wearing reading glasses.
Crystalens not only treats your cataracts (a clouding or hardening of your lens), but can also reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye’s natural lens. The unique Crystalens can reduce or eliminate glasses for most activities, including: reading a book, working on the computer, and driving a car.
Crystalens was modeled after the human eye. Like the natural lens, it uses the eye muscle to flex and accommodate in order to focus on objects in the environment at all distances. Crystalens dynamically adjusts to your visual needs.
To learn more about the Crystalens IOL go to:
Medicare Patients
Further good news is that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that they will now allow Medicare beneficiaries to choose these more expensive lenses as long as they pay for the extra cost themselves. Doctors and Medicare patients will have the freedom to select technology to treat cataracts that is consistent with the patient’s lifestyle. Previously, the government paid most of the price of treatment, including surgery, insertion of a traditional intraocular lens, and one pair of eye glasses or contact lenses. Doctors were not allowed to exceed Medicare’s established price for the procedure or to ask patients to make up the difference for the multifocal lens. Medicare patients couldn’t pay extra for a better lens even if they wanted to. Now the rules have changed.
