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What decisions do I, as the patient, need to make for cataract / refractive lens surgery?
There are two things to consider:
- What are my vision needs?
- Do I want a premium lens implant?
Your visual needs will depend on your daily activities. We
typically divide daily activities into a few main groups,
depending on zones.
- Zone 1 (1-2 feet away): newspaper, maps, sewing, fine print
- Zone 2 (2-4 feet away): headlines, computer, menus, pricetags
- Zone 3 (6-20 feet away): indoors, TV, cooking, cleaning, gym
- Zone 4 (20-100 feet away): day driving, roadsigns, golf, tennis
- Zone 5 (100+ feet away): night driving, star gazing, movies
With a standard lens implant, only one or perhaps two
contiguous zones can be achieved without glasses, which would
be required for the other zones. If you have astigmatism or
other focusing problems, you may be required to wear glasses
for all zones with a traditional lens implant. Additional surgery
to correct the astigmatism incurs additional costs.
With a premium lens implant, three or four adjoining zones can
be achieved without glasses, thereby providing far greater
freedom from spectacles. Due to this increased range of vision,
premium lens implants are chosen by 80% of my patients. If
you have astigmatism, the cost of correcting it at the time of
surgery or shortly thereafter is included at no extra cost. |
