Cataract surgery can restore your vision affected by cataracts and presbyopia. Not only does cataract surgery remove your cataracts entirely, but it can also help you significantly reduce your dependence on glasses.

The best way to do this is by choosing a premium intraocular lens, or IOL. There are several premium IOLs on the market.

One of the more advanced and versatile lenses is the trifocal. With trifocal IOLs, you can see more and regain a sense of independence.

The trifocal can potentially reduce your need for glasses or contact lenses. Keep reading to learn how to get your independence back with the trifocal IOL!

Cataract Surgery and IOLs

When you have cataract surgery, your cataract surgeon will remove the entirety of your natural lens. The lens is the part of your eye where cataracts form.

The only way to remove cataracts is to remove the lens itself. In years past, cataract surgery patients were left without a lens in their eye and had to rely on thick glasses to see after surgery.

But with modern medicine, you now receive a replacement lens, called an IOL. IOLs are artificial lenses that come in a few different designs.

All IOLs aim to correct common refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Some IOLs will also correct presbyopia.

Presbyopia is an eye condition in adults over forty that causes difficulty seeing at near. Some IOLs may even reduce your dependence on reading glasses. 

Premium IOLs

Once your eye doctor recommends that you have cataract surgery, you will need to choose an IOL. Many insurance companies cover standard IOL, which can correct common refractive errors like nearsightedness and farsightedness. 

Standard IOLs are set to correct your vision at one focus range, meaning you will have to wear glasses for certain activities. They can either help you see up close or far away. 

However, premium IOLs can correct your vision for multiple ranges of distance. Premium IOLs come in different designs and reduce or eliminate the need for reading glasses.

They also often offer a better range of vision. One popular IOL, called a multifocal, offers much clearer up-close vision and improved distance vision. 

It’s composed of alternating rings that extend from the center of the lens, switching between a close focal point and a far one. This IOL trains your eyes and brain to look through the correct one depending on how close the object you’re looking at is.

Multifocals and other premium IOLs may reduce the need for reading glasses, but each kind has its own benefits and drawbacks. The trifocal IOL is one kind of IOL that offers a broader range of benefits and a more comprehensive range of vision.

The Trifocal IOL

The trifocal IOL is designed much like a multifocal in that it’s composed of sections set to different refractive powers. Instead of only alternating between two refractive powers, the lens contains three. 

One is set so you can see up close, one at a distance, and one at intermediate range. This composition gives you a wider range of vision than other premium lenses, which don’t always offer improved intermediate vision. 

The premier trifocal lens, the PanOptix, which we offer at Sugiki Portis Eye Center, also doesn’t sacrifice up-close vision in favor of intermediate vision. The lens allows patients to see very well up close and at a middle distance, reducing the need for reading glasses and enabling you to have clear vision at most distances.

Advantages of the Trifocal

The trifocal IOL will almost certainly reduce your dependence on reading glasses. It may even eliminate the need for reading glasses and even regular glasses and contact lenses altogether. 

Results vary depending on your vision and existing prescription, but the trifocal is almost guaranteed to at least reduce dependence on other forms of visual aid. The trifocal IOL is also great for anyone who works on a computer. 

When working on a computer, you are utilizing your intermediate vision. Some IOLs offer excellent up-close vision and thus encourage electronics users to sit way too close to the screen to see it. 

Since the trifocal gives patients such good intermediate vision, you can more comfortably view screens at the appropriate distance. With a broader range of vision than other IOLs, the trifocal is also great for anyone active or social. 

The trifocal allows you to easily switch from looking at something up close, like a menu or playing cards or looking at someone sitting across the table without losing focus. The trifocal IOL can help you become independent from reading glasses and give you more freedom in your everyday life.

Do you want to learn if a trifocal will help you accomplish your vision goals? Schedule a cataract evaluation at Sugiki Portis in Honolulu, HI, today!