Cataract surgery can change your life by giving you your vision back. Cataracts are a common age-related eye condition and often cause significant vision loss.
But cataract surgery completely removes your cataracts, restoring all vision lost to cataracts. However, cataract surgery can do more than give you your vision back; it can make it better than ever!
With new and innovative IOLs, cataract surgery can help you see clearly and significantly reduce or even eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses. Perhaps the most advanced IOL is the Light Adjustable Lens.
The Light Adjustable Lens is the only IOL that gives you fully customizable vision! But what exactly is an IOL, and what sets the Light Adjustable Lens apart from other IOLs?
Keep reading to learn more about the Light Adjustable Lens and why it can help you design your own vision!
Cataract Surgery and IOLs
When you have cataract surgery, your See Clearly Vision cataract surgeon will remove your cataract and natural lens. Since cataracts form on the lens, removing the lens is the only way to remove them.
But you aren’t left without a lens in your eye. A crucial component of cataract surgery is replacing your natural lens with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens, or IOL.
IOLs take over the job that your once transparent natural lens did and ensure you can see clearly after cataract surgery. There are several different kinds of IOLs.
One option is a standard IOL, called a monofocal lens. Monofocal lenses are the only IOLs included in the cost of cataract surgery.
A monofocal IOL only corrects your vision at one distance, meaning you can see well at a distance or up close. Patients with monofocals still require glasses or contacts to see at the opposite distance.
Premium IOLs, however, can help you see better and reduce the need for reading glasses and other visual aids. The Light Adjustable Lens is a premium IOL, but it’s also more than that. It’s the only IOL that you can have tailored after cataract surgery.
What is the Light Adjustable Lens?
The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) is an IOL made of UV-reactive material. This allows it to be adjusted after it’s implanted during cataract surgery.
Your ophthalmologist at See Clearly Vision uses a Light Delivery Device to mold and adjust the lens to fit your exact visual needs. Other IOL prescriptions, even those for other premium IOLs, are chosen by a cataract surgeon before the procedure.
The exact lens used is based on a patient’s vision before removing their cataracts. Your cataract surgeon has to estimate any visual changes, which can be challenging and is still subject to human error.
These IOLs are often still capable of giving patients good vision, but the consequence is that they could be more precise. The Light Adjustable Lens is different because it’s custom-fitted to a patient’s vision after healing from cataract surgery.
This makes it more precise than other premium IOLs, ensuring you can enjoy the best possible vision after cataract surgery.
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How the Light Adjustable Lens Works
When you choose the Light Adjustable Lens, it’s implanted like any other IOL during cataract surgery. But after cataract surgery, you’ll have to wear UV-protective glasses at all times while your eyes heal.
The UV-protective glasses ensure the Light Adjustable Lens cannot accidentally change or adjust its shape before your ophthalmologist professionally adjusts it. You should only remove your UV-protective glasses while sleeping, showering, or putting in eye drops.
Once your eyes heal from cataract surgery, which usually takes about two weeks, you will begin a series of light treatments with a Light Delivery Device. These treatments are non-invasive and given in-office at See Clearly Vision.
After each session, you can test drive your vision and what it could look like so that your eye doctor can adjust it accordingly at your subsequent treatment. Most patients only need 2-3 treatments before attaining their desired visual results.
These treatments are given three days apart. You’ll need to continue wearing your UV-protective glasses between treatments.
When you’re satisfied with your vision, you will have two final treatments to lock in the adjusted lens and your vision. After the final treatment, you’ll have clear vision and no longer need to worry about the Light Adjustable Lens changing shape if exposed to UV light.
Learn More About the Light Adjustable Lens
Why Design Your Own Vision?
The Light Adjustable Lens gives you vision customized for you. That means your vision will be sharp and clear without worrying about visual aberrations like halos and glare, commonly associated with cataracts.
You’ll also be able to reduce your dependence on visual aids or eliminate them entirely, depending on how you customize your vision with the Light Adjustable Lens. The Light Adjustable Lens isn’t a traditional monofocal lens because it has an extended depth of focus.
Having an extended depth of focus (EDOF) means the Light Adjustable Lens helps you see well within a range of distances rather than just far away or up close. The extended depth of focus allows patients to depend less on other presbyopia correction methods like reading glasses.
Because the Light Adjustable Lens is adjusted and customized to your exact visual needs, it also simultaneously corrects other refractive errors you may have. In short, the Light Adjustable Lens gives you the best available for IOLs and vision correction during cataract surgery.
Find Out If the Light Adjustable Lens is Right for You!
If the Light Adjustable Lens appeals to you and you’re willing to wear UV-protective glasses after cataract surgery, you may be a good candidate for this premium IOL! The only way to find out is to schedule a cataract evaluation at See Clearly Vision in Arlington or Tysons Corner, VA! Why wait any longer when you can experience what customized vision is like for yourself?
