Mini-Mono or Multi-focal. Which one is better?
Posted , 7 users are following.
This is my second post since joining the board. I am a 56 y/o healthy male. I was recently diagnosed with an advanced cataract in my left eye and an early stage cataract in my right eye. I also have Glacoma in the left eye which is being treated with Lanaprost eye drops.
My left eye is 20/100 and my right eye is 20/40. I only see close to intermediate range in the left eye and medium to distance in the right eye. I have a slight astigmatism in my eyes as well. My optic nerve was checked and it’s in good shape and I am a good candidate for cataract surgery. I now see in mono-vision as my eyes have gotten worse in the last few years.
My medical provider is a large HMO. The original surgeon I spoke to said I wasn’t a good candidate for multi-focal lenses due to the fact I have an Asigmatism and smaller shaped eyes. He recommended single vision lenses. But just recently I met with a different surgeon at another location but same HMO, that is well recommended and has a lot of Cataract surgeries under his belt with a high success rate. He looked at my eyes and charts and said he didn’t see anything that would prevent me from getting the multi-focal lenses. His only warning is that I may get some artifacts at night which I already have with the cataract.
I did ask about doing a mini-mono arrangement. He said we can do that but he felt since I’m still relatively young I might miss having a full range of vision. He also said with the mini-mono I will probably need glasses for driving since I most likely won’t pass the driving exam without glasses due to having one near sighted eye.
After reading the posts on this board for a few months now it seems that many of you are having issues with multi-vision lenses due to blurriness or artifacts issues. I guess what I'm wondering is it that much different using a mini-mono arrangement vs multi-focal and will the artifacts (halos and starbursts) at night worse than what I currently experience or just slightly annoying. I think I would prefer the multi-focal lenses and independence from glasses but I don't want problems down the road.
0 likes, 18 replies
phyllis31515 jeff72055
Posted
Hello Jeff,
I had cataract surgery done on my right eye in August and left eye in September of this year. I, like you, saw two different doctors within the same medical group. The first doctor referred me to the head doctor in that medical group because I had Lasek eye surgery 11 years ago, I have dry eye and and I have droopy eyes, and an astigmatism in my left eye. He also said that if I was even considering multifocal lenses that he wanted the doctor who was most experienced in selecting the right lens for me. After much thought and research, I had a Symfony lens implanted in the right eye and a Symfony Toric lens in my left eye. I couldn't be happier with the results, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I have not put on a pair of glasses since the day of my first surgery. I see clearly at all three distances. I am so thankful and grateful for the crystal clear vision that I now experience every day. At night I do see some starbursts from approaching headlights, but they do not bother me. Prior to the surgery, the headlights were a big white maze. Now they are a beautiful starburst, which is a small price to pay for seeing clearly at all distances. I truly believe the success I have is because my doctor is trained and experienced with the Symfony lens.
jeff72055 phyllis31515
Posted
Hi Phyllis,
Were these EDOF or MF lenses?
jeff72055
Posted
These are the lenses the surgeon offers for both multifocal and monofocal.
Alcon monofocal IOL is sn60wf .
Alcon multifocal lens
J+J multifocal lens
Symfony EDOF lens made by J+J.