PanOptix: Trifocal IOL

You're probably familiar with bifocal or trifocal glasses. They help correct the vision at different distances, so you can read your book, still look up, and focus on what's happening across the room. PanOptix Lenses work similarly, providing vision correction at a range of differences.

These multifocal lenses are designed to replace the damaged lens in your eye when cataracts become too severe to correct with glasses. They're made from hydrophilic acrylic, and they have 26 diffractive rings. Those 26 rings refract the light in different ways, so patients can focus on objects close to them, such as a book, at intermediate distances, such as a computer screen, and far away, such as when driving. 

PanOptix Lenses also have a filtering material to protect your eyes from blue light and ultraviolet rays.

Patients usually feel little or no pain on the day of surgery. You'll be given medication to help you relax, and anesthetic drops are used to numb your eyes. The surgery usually takes about 15 to 30 minutes per eye, and you'll be able to go home in just a few hours.

Recovery usually takes a day or two, and you will probably experience some blurriness, minor soreness, irritation, and swelling. These symptoms are usually mild and go away in a few days. Most people are completely healed within four to six weeks after surgery. 

Cataract surgery can be completed in our office setting and usually takes less than 30 minutes. The eye doctor will administer local anesthesia before removing the affected lens with a bladeless surgery technique and replacing it with a clear lens designed to improve your distance vision and acuity. We will bandage your eyes and allow you to rest in the recovery room. You will need to bring a friend or family member who can drive you home from the procedure.

You will return to the eye doctor for a follow-up visit shortly after surgery as well as a few times in the weeks and months after. Within about three months of the procedure, we will determine whether you need a new prescription for glasses or contact lenses based on your progress.

PanOptix surveyed patients after having this treatment and found that most experienced minimal or no discomfort during their procedures. In fact, many reported that having the surgery was not as difficult as they expected and said they wished they had not waited to get cataract and refractive lens implants.

Cataract lens replacement provides safe, effective results, with fewer than one percent of patients experiencing complications such as retinal detachment, bleeding, or infection. Without treatment, many people with this condition eventually experience complete vision loss.

The amount of improvement depends on the condition of your eye before surgery. Generally, within 24 hours, the blurriness from the surgery should be lessened, and you will already see things more clearly than before. Your vision will continue to improve over the next months.

Your new PanOptix lenses are made to last for a lifetime. Cataracts cannot come back once the original lens in the eye has been removed. In rare cases, cloudiness develops on the capsule around the new lens, but this can be quickly corrected in-office with a laser.

With any cataract surgery, patients often experience dry eyes and light sensitivity as their eyes heal. You may also have other side effects, such as visual disturbances. These visual disturbances mean things look a little different, such as seeing a halo or rays around lights. You may also find distinguishing objects from their background difficult, particularly in low light, making driving more difficult at night. 

Most of the time, patients report that these symptoms decrease in the months after surgery and become less of a problem over time. 

You may also experience some blurriness as your brain adapts to your new range of vision. Within six months, most people can adapt and see clearly at low, intermediate, and far distances.