Tecnis® Multifocal

The Tecnis® Multifocal lens is an intraocular (IOL) lens that can be used during cataract surgery to replace the cloudy, aged natural lens.  This advanced technology lens is ideal for cataract patients with difficulty reading, seeing close objects, and who wear bifocals and have changing eyeglass prescriptions, as it accommodates to all distances for clear vision from near to far with everything in between. 

Unlike other multifocal lenses, the Tecnis Multifocal lens corrects vision at all distances and at all light levels, reducing the occurrence of poor night vision, glare and halos by correcting higher-order aberrations and expanding or contracting to fit the changing light source.  In fact, nearly 90 percent of patients do not need glasses or contact lenses after Tecnis Multifocal lenses have been implanted, and over 94 percent would choose to have this lens implanted again. 

Tecnis® Aspheric IOLs

Cataract surgery, which replaces the eye’s cloudy lens with an artificial clear lens (called an intraocular lens, or IOL), is the most common operation in the U.S. More than half of adults over age 65 have some degree of cataract development. People 65 and older are also more likely to be involved in car crashes than people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Now an innovative night vision-enhancing IOL can help elderly drivers with cataracts avoid accidents.

Manufactered by Pfizer Inc., the Tecnis® IOL was designed to provide cataract surgery patients with high-quality vision comparable to that of young people.  Its main concern is improving safety with vision correction.  It is meant to improve functional vision - the ability to see objects in varying light conditions - especially at night and twilight and in rain, snow and fog. This means improved night vision and reduction of spherical aberrations, an undesirable scattering of light that is a common side effect of cataract surgery.

The lens was approved as an IOL by the FDA in 2002. In April 2004 it was approved again as a driving aid. 

In tests, drivers 65 and older wearing a silicone Tecnis lens were able to recognize objects faster, improving their braking response time by half a second and stopping about 60 feet shorter than drivers wearing traditional acrylic lenses.

Risks are the same as with any other IOL implantation in cataract surgery and include corneal edema, iritis, hyphema, macular edema, retinal detachment and lens dislocation. 

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