Cataract Surgery with ReSTOR® and ReZoom™ – Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
By the time they reach 80 years of age, more than 50 percent of all Americans will have been affected by cataracts at some point in their lives. For this reason, cataract surgery has become the single most frequently performed surgical procedure in the United States. Implantable lens technology has greatly improved the effectiveness of cataract surgery, and individuals from throughout Western Pennsylvania have trusted InSightSM LASIK & Refractive Group with their procedure. Our ophthalmologists use ReSTOR® and ReZoom™ intraocular lenses (IOLs) for cataract surgery at our Pittsburgh-area surgery center to help cataract sufferers restore the quality of their vision.
What Are Cataracts?
Though the development of cataracts can be related to eye injury, disease, or the use of certain medications, the primary cause of cataracts is the natural aging process. The eye contains a lens through which light is focused on the retina to produce an image. Over time, this lens, which is composed mostly of water and protein, can begin to cloud. This clouding obscures the light and keeps it from properly focusing on the retina, resulting in blurred or otherwise impaired vision.
Cataract Surgery
The only means of correcting cataracts is to surgically remove the clouded lens and replace it with a clear intraocular lens (IOL) such as the ReZoom™ or ReSTOR® multifocal IOL. Cataract surgery at our Pittsburgh-area vision care center involves one of two methods to remove the clouded lens.
Phacoemulsification
The lens is held inside a small capsule. During phacoemulsification, the surgeon uses ultrasound waves to remove the cataract while leaving the lens capsule mostly intact. A tiny incision is made where the cornea meets the conjunctiva (the thin membrane that covers the outer surface of the eye). A device, roughly the width of a needle, is inserted through the incision and emits the ultrasound waves that emulsify (or break apart) the cataract. The fragments are removed, and the lens implant is placed inside the capsule.
Extracapsular Cataract Extraction
This method may be employed if the cataract has developed beyond the point where the clouded lens can be broken up through phacoemulsification. During this method of cataract surgery at our Western Pennsylvania facility, the surgeon makes a larger incision where the cornea and sclera meet to be able to open the lens capsule and remove the entire nucleus. The softer lens cortex is cleaned, and the lens implant is placed inside the empty capsule.
Intraocular Lenses
After the cataract has been removed, the natural lens is replaced with a clear, artificial one. These lens implants, or intraocular lenses, are composed of acrylic, silicone, or plastic. They become a permanent fixture of the eye and do not require any maintenance or care.
ReZoom™
The ReZoom™ multifocal IOL used at our Cranberry Township facility near Pittsburgh represents an improvement upon traditional single vision monofocal lenses. In the past, monofocal lenses provided clear vision at a single focal point – either near or distant – but patients typically had to rely on reading glasses or bifocals to enjoy a full range of vision.
The ReZoom™ multifocal IOL incorporates a patented new design called Balanced View Optics™ Technology to create multiple focal points that allow patients to see well at various distances.
Quality Vision through Five Focusing Zones
The ReZoom™ multifocal IOL is divided into five unique visual zones that provide quality vision across a range of conditions.
- In low light, the ReZoom™ multifocal IOL provides distance-dominant support. This zone improves distance vision when light conditions are less than optimal, such as when wearers are driving at night.
- In bright light, the lens provides quality distance vision. This zone improves distance vision for such activities as driving in daylight.
- The near-dominant zone supports near vision across a range of medium to low level light conditions.
- Another near-dominant zone supports quality near vision across a range of light levels.
- The final zone provides improved distance vision in medium to low light levels.
Though the ReZoom™ multifocal IOL is essentially a stationary lens, these five zones provide a range of vision that closely mimics the flexibility of the eye's natural accommodating lens.
ReSTOR®
The ReSTOR® multifocal IOL provided at our Cranberry Township facility near Pittsburgh provides quality vision across the entire visual spectrum through a combination of apodized diffractive and refractive technologies that reproduce the accommodating power of the eye's natural lens.
Apodized Diffractive Technology
When the eye is healthy, its natural lens refocuses to adjust for vision at different distances. This is called accommodation. Although the ReSTOR® multifocal IOL is a stationary lens, it is able to achieve the effects of accommodation as a result of its design. Through apodization, the various diffractive sections of the ReSTOR® lens are evenly tapered to produce a smooth range of vision throughout the complete visual spectrum. It does this by refracting the light passing through the lens so that it resolves at multiple focal points.
Refractive Technology
The ReSTOR® multifocal IOL's refractive technology accurately redirects light passing through the lens to the proper focal point on the retina. The refractive region of the lens appears as a ring around the apodized diffractive zone and focuses light exclusively for distance vision.
Benefits of the ReSTOR® Multifocal IOL
For many patients, the ReSTOR® multifocal IOL offers freedom from reading glasses or bifocals, producing superior near and distance vision and fine intermediate vision. The ReSTOR® multifocal IOL also provides quality vision in a range of lighting conditions. In brighter light, the central diffractive zone bends and spreads light waves to the near and distant focal points to deliver a broader range of vision. In darker conditions, the refractive area directs more light to enhance distance vision.
Limbal Relaxing Incisions
For patients with astigmatism, limbal relaxing incisions are recommended in conjunction with cataract surgery to optimize the multifocal properties of the intraocular lenses. Incisions are made in the peripheral portion of the cornea to relax the irregular curvature that can produce blurred vision. When combined with advanced intraocular lenses, limbal relaxing incisions can help cataract patients achieve a wider range of vision clarity. This relatively simple procedure can also be performed by itself for the effective treatment of astigmatism.
Learn More about Cataract Surgery at InSightSM LASIK & Refractive Group
Incorporating the latest developments in lens implant technology, the ReZoom™ and ReSTOR® IOLs used in cataract surgery provide our Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania patients with a new lease on clear vision. To learn more about your vision correction options, contact InSightSM LASIK & Refractive Groups today.
Contact InSightSM LASIK & Refractive Group to learn more about ReSTOR® and ReZoom™ IOLs and other cataract surgery options at our office near Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania.
InSightSM LASIK & Refractive Group
105 Brandt Dr.
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
T: 724-772-9600
F: 724-772-5468