Advanced vision correction options, including intraocular lens implants and innovative laser procedures like LASIK may be life-changing for young adults, but it doesn’t offer the same long-term benefits for patients 55 and older. Laser vision correction does not prevent the natural aging process that causes the eyes’ lenses to become less flexible (presbyopia) and cloudy (cataract). Lens replacement procedures address both presbyopia and cataracts, resulting in lifelong vision correction.
Dr. Wu refers to this procedure as “one and done.” There are different types of IOL implants to give you lifelong freedom from presbyopia, reading glasses, and cataracts!
Lens Replacement Can Use Multifocal or Accommodative Lenses
The American Academy of Ophthalmology explains that with refractive lens exchange (RLE), an artificial lens replaces the eye’s natural lens to improve vision, and that the procedure is performed much like cataract surgery. It adds that RLE may use multifocal or accommodative intraocular lenses, which allow focusing at all distances, and that some people with early-stage cataracts choose RLE instead of waiting for their cataracts to progress. This supports the point above that different lens types can address presbyopia and cataracts.
“RLE may employ multifocal or accommodative intraocular lenses (IOLs).”
American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), “Alternative Refractive Surgery Procedures”
