Surgical Vision Correction Options
for Aging Eyes
WHAT IS PRESBYOPIA?
As we all age, we gradually lose our natural ability to readjust our focus from far to near. This normal unavoidable condition is called “Presbyopia.” For most individuals with presbyopia between 40 and 50 years of age, they begin to notice that reading small print up-close either requires additional effort, more light, reading glasses or bifocals, or if they are already “near-sighted,” they have to remove their glasses to read comfortably. IntraLASIK creates normal vision…Normal vision after age 40 involves presbyopia and some reliance on reading glasses to read small print comfortably.
For individuals 50 and older, the best option for vision correction in most instances is cataract and refractive lens surgery with a premium lens implant. For more information on cataract and refractive lens surgery, click here. By replacing the natural dysfunctional lens for people in this age range, we can provide them excellent near and far vision – essentially enabling them to see younger with less dependence on reading glasses. Additionally, vision correction with lens implants such as the crystalens, restor or rezoom lenses provides more stable visual results than laser vision correction. The lens implant does not age in our lifetime. In contrast, our natural lenses that we had since birth become cloudy, inelastic and perform worse each year after age 50. So the three-fold benefit of lens implant surgery over laser vision correction for individuals 50 and over is:
1)More stable vision, 2) Restoration of more youthful vision such that many individuals can see near and far with minimal to no dependence on glasses, and 3) no need for cataract surgery later in life.
Another way of thinking about vision is to understand the 3 zones of vision: near, mid-range, and far away. We use our eyes to see near (Eg. Reading printed text on paper), mid-range (Eg. Computer), and far away (Eg. TV and recognizing street signs while driving).
Individuals 40 and younger have the ability to focus freely and without effort over all 3 zones of vision. Betweeen age 40 and 50, we develop presbyopia and notice that it becomes more difficult to refocus our eyes from far to near.
Individuals between 40-50 begin to use reading glasses or “magnifiers or cheaters” to see near. In essence during your 40’s you lose 1 of 3 zones of focus –near vision- due to presbyopia.
Individuals 50 and older lose a second zone (now 2 out of the 3 zones of vision are fading away or lost) of focus and begin to use reading glasses for near and mid-range vision. The aging process after 50 has essentially caused individuals 50 and older to have only one zone of fixed-focus vision that they can see clearly without help.
Please click on the information toolbar to learn more about the best vision correction option for you.
WHAT PREMIUM LENS OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO ENABLE ME TO SEE NEAR, FAR AND IN-BETWEEN WITHOUT GLASSES OR CONTACTS?
There are four exciting new lens implant technologies that we offer for individuals seeking more youthful vision and/or presbyopia correction: 1) The Crystalens (the accommodating lens implant), 2) The ReSTOR lens (apodized diffractive lens implant), 3) The Tecnis multifocal lens, and 4) the Rezoom multifocal lens. For more information about each deluxe lens implant technology, click on the links below:
Click here to see a comparison of all 6 lens options
 Tecnis Multifocal |
 Crystalens HD |
 ReZoom Lens |
 ReSTOR Lens |
 Standard Monofical |
 TORIC Lens |