Toric Intraocular Lens
A patient with astigmatism will not have clear vision without glasses after surgery unless the astigmatism is corrected during the procedure. One method of correcting astigmatism is y inserting a toric intraocular lens. This lens has special characteristics that allow it to improve the clarity of vision when astigmatism is present. Toric lenses are designed for patients who have moderate or high amounts of astigmatism and wish to be less dependent on glasses after their surgery. Two different manufacturers currently make a toric lens; STARR surgical makes a silicone plate haptic toric lens. ALCON makes an acrylic toric lens. Either lens can safely and effectively treat astigmatism.
Strengths:
Improved clarity of vision without glasses
Weaknesses:
- The correct position of the lens is very important to fully correct the astigmatism. Unplanned rotation of the lens within the eye after the surgery can decrease the effectiveness of the astigmatism treatment, and in rare circumstances could actually make astigmatism worse.
- Toric intraocular lenses only come in certain powers, which results in less flexibility in the amounts of astigmatism that can be treated.
- Toric intraocular lenses will add additional cost to your cataract surgery.
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