If you have mild to moderate cataracts, then your ophthalmologist may have spoken to you about surgery to remove the cataracts. During the surgery, the lenses that are covered in calcium formations are removed or destroyed. This means that the lenses in your eyes need to be replaced. While natural cadaver lenses are an option, most eye doctors offer artificial lenses instead. More advanced lenses are available that include multifocal varieties. Keep reading to learn about some multifocal lens facts. Check it out.
They Reduce Your Need for Glasses
Multifocal or multifocal interocular lenses are artificial lenses that offer good eyesight in a variety of different circumstances. Traditional replacement lenses do not offer good visual acuity when objects are close to the face. This means that you may have trouble reading, using a tablet, or working on a computer. During these sorts if situations, you will need to wear glasses. Reading glasses and bifocal glasses are usually prescribed to help you see clearly.
Traditional cataract surgery lenses cause visual problems because the lenses themselves are not very flexible. The name for the farsightedness issue caused by inflexible lenses is called presbyopia. It is a condition that will persist and that will require you to always wear glasses after cataract surgery.
Multifocal lenses do not cause presbyopia. The lenses are not flexible, but they are created to transmit light across the entirety of the lens in a way that increases visual acuity regardless of the situation or the ambient light available in the area. This means that you can read fine print and also drive at night in low light conditions without a problem.
While multifocal lenses do provide superior overall vision, they do not give you the advanced long distance sight that standard monofocal replacement lenses are known for. If this is concern of yours, then your eye doctor can offer a multifocal replacement lens in your dominant eye and a monofocal one in your other eye. This way you can see far away objects clearly and you can also free yourself from having to wear reading glasses.
The Lenses Cost More
Most insurance companies cover the cost of basic cataract surgeries. Cataract procedures are not elective. They are performed to restore your eyesight once it becomes significantly compromised. Traditional lenses restore the eyesight to a normal or suitable level. Multifocal lenses enhance the eyesight above and beyond what you may have experienced before the surgery.
If you want the multifocal lenses, then you may need to pay the cost difference between the regular monofocal varieties and the multifocal ones. You should be prepared to pay as much as $4,000 extra for the procedure. Your ophthalmologist will be able to tell you will need to pay out of pocket before the procedure is scheduled and completed. Keep in mind that multifocal lenses will also need to be placed during a laser surgery procedure. This procedure is more expensive than a traditional lens removal operation, so this will increase your costs as well.
If you want to keep your costs down and if your main visual concern is an astigmatism issue, then you can ask your eye doctor to use astigmatism correcting lenses instead. These lenses are cheaper than multifocal varieties. They are more expensive than traditional lenses, but you will probably only need to pay out several hundred to a little over a thousand dollars out of pocket for them.
If you need a cataract surgery, then you should know that you have lens options available to you. Multifocal lenses are something that you might want to look into. Make sure to ask your ophthalmologist about these lenses as well as other options so you can make the most informed surgical choice.
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