Comparing Light Adjustable Lenses vs. Traditional IOLs: What Patients Should Know

Cataract treatment typically has two goals: to remove the cataract and restore clear vision, and to correct pre-existing refractive errors. For many years, traditional intraocular lenses (IOLs) have been the standard solution for restoring vision after cataract removal. While effective, these lenses have their limitations. Specifically, they are able to deliver highly precise, personalized results.

Light adjustable lenses (LALs) are redefining what’s possible. These lenses allow your surgeon to adjust your prescription after surgery, giving you greater precision and visual satisfaction than ever before.

Cataract Treatment

As we age, the proteins and fibres that make up the eye’s lens can break down. This causes a cataract to form. The lens becomes cloudy, impairing your ability to see clearly and accurately. Without treatment, your cataract will continue to worsen, eventually threatening your vision altogether.

Fortunately, cataract treatment is an effective, safe, and established way to fully restore your vision. During surgery, the clouded lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. There are several cataract lens options available, depending on your needs and budget.

Cataract Lens Options

• Monofocal Intraocular Lenses: Provide clear vision at a single distance. In most cases, you will still need to wear reading glasses or contacts for certain tasks.

• Multifocal Intraocular Lenses: Provide clear vision at multiple distances. They function like bifocal or trifocal glasses, allowing you to see both near and faraway objects.

• Toric Intraocular Lenses: These are designed specifically to correct astigmatism.

• Extended Depth of Focus Lenses: These impact one corrective zone, like monofocal lenses, but the zone is stretched to accommodate near, far, and intermediate vision.

• Light Adjustable Lenses (LAL): This is a new type of monofocal IOL. It allows for post-operative adjustments.

Traditional IOLs

Traditional IOLS like monofocal, multifocal, toric, and extended depth of focus lenses have been the standard cataract solution for many years. Most are made from a rigid polymethylmethacrylate material that is durable and long-lasting. However, traditional IOLs are set with a fixed prescription. This means that it is impossible to adjust your prescription after surgery without additional procedures, glasses, or contacts. Customization is also limited, so the prescription of the IOL may not fully address your refractive error.

How do they work?

During cataract surgery, the clouded lens is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens. This artificial lens is called an intraocular lens (IOL). It restores any vision loss caused by the cataract, allowing you to see clearly without cloudiness, haziness, or discolouration.

IOLs are also used to correct refractive errors, like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Consequently, your vision will be better after your cataract treatment than it was before. The cloudy lens is replaced with a clear one, and the original refractive error is resolved.

Light Adjustable Lenses

Increasingly, more patients are opting for light adjustable lenses (LALs) over traditional IOLs. These represent the latest advancement in cataract treatment, Whereas traditional IOLs come with a fixed prescription, LALs allow for precise adjustments to be made after the initial surgery.

Light adjustable lenses are made from a special photosensitive material. Following cataract surgery, your surgeon uses targeted ultraviolet (UV) light to reshape the LAL and fine-tune your prescription. This customization makes them the premium IOL option for Canadians.

How do they work?

Unlike traditional IOLs made from a rigid material, LALs feature an adaptable material that can be altered when exposed to specific wavelengths of light.

After your initial cataract treatment, your eyes will be given 2–3 weeks to heal. Then, you’ll visit Clearview Vision Institute for 1-3 adjustment sessions. During these appointments, the LAL is exposed to UV light, allowing us to adjust your prescription. The number of required adjustment sessions varies per person. Once you’re happy with your vision, you’ll come back for at least one “lock in” treatment to stabilize the lens and prevent future changes.

Following surgery and throughout the adjustment period, you will be required to wear glasses that block UV light. You must wear these glasses at all times—even indoors! These prevent unintended light exposure that could alter the lens.

Key Differences Between Traditional IOLs and LALs

• Customization: Traditional IOLs are fixed in power, so the prescription cannot be modified after the initial surgery. With light adjustable lenses, the power can be fine-tuned and optimized post-surgery.

• Precision: LALs provide a higher degree of precision, resulting in better contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and more accurate results. Traditional IOLs can still deliver satisfactory results, but they are less precise.

• Comprehensiveness: Light adjustable lenses address near, far, and intermediate vision. Because they are more precise and customizable, patients do not have to wear prescription glasses or contact lenses post-cataract treatment. As traditional IOLs lack the precision and adaptability of LALs, many recipients still need to wear prescription glasses or contact lenses to achieve 20/20 vision.

• Treatment Duration: Cataract treatment involving traditional IOLs occurs in a single session. LALs require an additional 2–5 visits over multiple weeks in order for the lens to be properly adjusted and locked in.

• Cost: Traditional IOLs tend to be lower cost than LALs.

The Advantages of Premium LALs

Post-Operative Customization

The ability to customize and fine-tune your prescription post-surgery is the main advantage of light adjustable lenses. Your final visual outcome is personalized to your needs and preferences. Since you get to select your desired visual acuity, you’re more likely to be satisfied with the results.

Greater Precision

Over the course of the adjustment sessions, your surgeon fine-tunes the lenses’ power precisely. This means that the LAL more accurately and comprehensively addresses refractive errors, thereby improving your vision to what it was before the cataract formed.

Improved Visual Outcomes

Traditional IOLs replace the clouded cataract and offer some refractive error correction, but not to the degree of light adjustable lenses. LALs correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism more effectively because they can be tailored to your individual needs. The end result is a better visual outcome that you can be happy with.

No Need for Corrective Eyewear

Traditional IOLs are less precise and comprehensive, so many patients still need to wear prescription eyewear (such as glasses and contacts) after cataract surgery. With LALs, however, your overall vision is improved to a greater degree. The cataract is removed and your original refractive error is corrected. You will no longer be required to wear (and pay for) corrective eyewear.

Non-Invasive Fine Tuning

Cataract treatment is a safe and effective procedure. Technological advancements have made the surgery less invasive and more comfortable for patients, but it is still, ultimately, an invasive surgery. The clouded lens must be removed and replaced with a new, artificial one.

Consequently, it’s understandable if you want to avoid additional surgeries for a while! Fortunately, light adjustable lenses are adjusted through non-invasive processes. This makes them an excellent option for patients wanting more precise results without the need for additional surgeries.

Visit Clearview Vision Institute for Cataract Treatment and Light Adjustable Lenses

Clearview Vision Institute offers cataract treatment in Toronto. We begin with a thorough cataract assessment, then proceed with laser cataract surgery once your candidacy is approved. Laser cataract surgery is more precise, more comfortable, and carries less risk of infection than traditional cataract surgery.

Furthermore, Clearview Vision Institute was one of the first clinics in Canada to offer this groundbreaking procedure. We take pride in being at the forefront of vision care. 

To request more information on cataract treatment, call Clearview Vision Institute today at 647-493-6371 or contact us here.