Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery

Live long enough and you will get a cataract. The definitive treatment is a cataract operation. However not all cataract operations are the same.

The basic cataract surgery available on the NHS involves removing the cataract and inserting an intraocular lens to restore focus and quality of vision with limited success.

Most patients after basic cataract surgery need to use spectacles all the time.

Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery on the other hand restores the best possible quality of vision without glasses or contact lenses. It is not uncommon to see patients in their 80s seeing better than they have ever seen in their lives after having advanced refractive cataract surgery.

How Does Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery Work?

Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery starts with a detailed diagnosis of the focusing system of your eye using sophisticated technology like computerised slit scan corneal topography (corneal power/shape mapping), pupillometry (measuring pupil size), and dual linear partial coherence interferometry (the most accurate and reproducible way of measuring the length of your eye ball).

This information is used to generate a personalised plan to not only repair the effects of the cataract but also to correct almost all focusing errors of your eye.

Additional surgical techniques to correct astigmatism are combined with state-of-the-art replacement lenses like multifocal, accommodative, toric or aspheric lenses to achieve the best possible quality of vision for distance and near without glasses or contact lenses.

This delicate surgery is usually carried out under a microscope using eye drops as anaesthesia, and patients are up and about immediately. Visual recovery is rapid, with most patients seeing the difference within 24 hours.

Replacement Lens Technology

Restor, ReZoom, Tecnis Multifocal, Crystalens, Synchrony, Light Adjustable Lens and LentisMplus, are brand names of various replacement lens designs available. They can all be grouped into one of the following categories of lens: aspheric monofocal, accommodative, refractive multifocal or diffractive multifocal.

We are one of most experienced centres worldwide when it comes to Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery, with more than 15 years experience of using the full range of accommodative, multifocal and aspheric monofocal lenses. No lens design is perfect, and the key is to choose the lens to match an individual patient’s needs.

We have pioneered many techniques in this field, including the PANFOCAL vision assessment to tailor the choice of lenses for each patient. Some of our happiest patients are patients with CustomLens, a technique in which two types of complementary lens designs are used in the two eyes of a patient to provide the full range of near, intermediate and distance vision.

Your Comprehensive Assessment

At your consultation with Mr. Pande, he will discuss the risks, benefits, alternative treatment options and potential complications associated with Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery in great detail and recommend the most appropriate option for your specific individual circumstances. If you are not a good candidate you will be advised not to have any surgery. A letter outlining the consultation will be sent to you and your general practitioner.

Suitability

Irrespective of your prescription, if you have a cataract you are a good candidate for Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery. If you have been using glasses all your life, developing a cataract may be a blessing in disguise as Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery can give you the best vision of your life without spectacles.

Anyone who is a good candidate for basic cataract surgery as available on the NHS is also a good candidate for Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery. You don’t have to wait for your cataract to ripen or reach any stage of severity. The ideal time to carry out refractive cataract surgery is when you want to improve your sight.

Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery is all about improving your quality of life – if you see better you live better.

Safety & Results

The vast majorities of our patients achieve 20/20 vision for distance and are able to use computers and read menus, newspapers, books, magazines and telephone directories without glasses. However, we advise our patients that for the purpose of deciding whether to have advanced refractive cataract surgery, they need to assume that without glasses they will achieve the legal standard required to drive a car and be able to read most things in good light.

The level of near (reading) and intermediate (using a computer) vision can be tailored to individual requirements by using different replacement lens designs. We have pioneered the CustomLens technique, which gives patients the full range of vision by customizing lens choice in each eye.

As with all treatments, Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery carries with it a small risk of complications. Generally there is a very minute chance of a severe complication, while less severe complications can occur in about 1% to 5% of cases.

No single vision correction procedure is suitable for all patients and it is critical that treatments are tailored to fit the needs of each and every individual patient.

John

“I could see everything so clearly that initially I thought I’d forgotten to take out my contact lenses & then I remembered that, no, this was my vision now.”