Question:
I am going for cataract surgery and would like to know if it is necessary to use the high-priced lens implant rather than the lens that Medicare will give me.
Answer:
During cataract surgery, the naturally occurring focusing lens of the eye is removed. It is not possible to take the cloudy cataract material from the human lens and leave the lens behind. For over 30 years, ophthalmologists have been implanting intraocular lenses into eyes as part of the cataract surgery with great success. These lenses have been proven safe and effective in correcting vision after cataract surgery, but have lacked the ability to provide distance and near vision from the same eye, like a bifocal lens in your glasses does for you. Some patients have opted for a blend of these monofocal lenses such that one eye is more focused for distance and the other eye is more focused for near (reading, etc.). Though this sounds like a good prescription for double vision, it is tolerated without difficulty in most patients. In the past few years, several new intraocular lenses have been developed that provide excellent vision for distance and for near with each eye. These presbyopia correcting lenses provide vision that is more natural and provides better depth perception. The added cost of these lenses is not covered by most , if not all, insurance companies and must be paid by the patient.
Now to answer your question: no, it is not "necessary to use the high-priced lens implant." Approximately 80 percent of all cataract surgery performed in the United States is performed with the traditional or standard monofocal implants, which are fully covered by most insurance companies. It really all comes down to your decision as to how important it is to you to be able to see both distance and near in each eye without glasses after cataract surgery. If that is important to you, as it is to me, then I would advise you to spend the extra money for the presbyopia-correcting lenses. If it is not important to you, then I think you will be very happy with the standard monofocal implant. No matter which choice you make, you might need a pair of glasses from time to time.
Answered by: Wayne Bizer, MD
Categories: Eye Conditions,
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