Posted , 24 users are following.
Has anyone who experienced a negative result from the Symfony lens brought a product liability lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson or a malpractice lawsuit against their eye surgeon?
0 likes, 62 replies
We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.
NoSymfony87885 bill1952
Posted
I had Symfony len 4 weeks ago(dominant eye) and it did not work for me: mostly because of huge halos any time of the day. Also I did not like image quality overall. My Doctor gladly agreed to replace it with monofocal IOL.
The surgery will be next week.
I think nothing wrong with my Doctor, Symfony producer is confusing patients promising small or none halos - I also was sold. Later I went and studied why it is can not be true : defocus area is not smooth and creates many reflection from echelette design.(it has small peaks equal or more of number of echelettes)
Please read this article: https://crstoday.com/articles/2016-aug/night-vision-and-presbyopia-correcting-iols/ to get an idea why advanced IOL always will give you halos.
Even this article says that Symfony is not bad, you can fugure out that they averaged the defocus line of Symfony.
"Symfony user will always see concetric halos and neuroadaption will help ignore them"- this what Johnson and Johnson should tell to patients.
I think overtime you can become used to halos, but I decided to explant it and I am very glad my Doctor was on my side.
john56935 NoSymfony87885
Posted
I agree--I take it your doctor isn't a big fan of symfony then--did he recommend a monofocal originally? If you could post how your new monofocal compares to the symfony it would be helpful to many on here. I am also curious if insurance will cover the cost of the exchange or if your surgeon is picking up the tab if you don't mind sharing that too.
soks NoSymfony87885
Posted
That's a very courageous decision. Good luck to you. Did you get any near/intermediate vision with Symfony? The small peaks you mention have been addressed by Zeiss with the SMP technology but there is minimal feedback on those as they are not available in the US.
Were you getting halos around lights and also glare during daytime? I find the glare which is an attempt to form a arc or circle very debilitating. But it happens at night.
Sue.An NoSymfony87885
Posted
Let us know how the exchange goes. I am sure there will be a number of people that would want to follow your experience. Start a new thread once first one is completed. Wish you well.
john56935 Sue.An
Posted
Please post on this thread too so I can follow it easier.
NoSymfony87885 bill1952
Posted
I put my update in another thread and I adding it here:
I did surgery this Tuesday(exactly 20 min my son told me) - it was very easy(they gave me something, that I remember only parts of surgery). Doctor selected far focus on my dominant eye. My non dominant still intact and I will keep it for a while. My doctor cut it in 2 peaces and pulled through 3 mm cut (as he said) and implanted into capsular bag mono focal Tecnis IOL+25, First day everything was white dark and blurry.
Second day I was able to drive to after surgery appointment. Today(third day) -I still can not see everything very well(too many shadows, because of lightly swollen cornea ) by operated eye. I remember after Symfony implant- I start seeing well only on 7 th day. I walked my dog in dark and what a relief I've got : no more round halos, I can see the the car shapes not blinding rounded enormous halos.
It was hard for me to decide to explant the Symfony lens, but my Doctor reassured me that they do it for many other reasons and he is very comfortable to do it. Yes, I agree symfony gives you intermediate vision, but I can buy any fantastic progressive glasses from zenni ( I have 15 of them -less than $100 each) and be happy without any halos. My Doctor told me that only 5% explanting the Symfony, looks like it is working for many people and I am glad for them. I could not envision my life with symfony halos( I am 61), it caused a major sadness in me.
I will update about my vision progress later.
ed72320 NoSymfony87885
Posted
Glad to hear that thus far you seem to be happy with the Symfony explant.
Look forward to your updates about your vision updates.
Thanks for your informative post.
ed72320
Posted
"vision progress" not "vision updates"
soks NoSymfony87885
Posted
thanks for the update and good luck with the healing. i am affected on certain days at night with the artifacts and seriously considering the exchange to monofocal.
from what distance is your vision clear now? i am 43 and even the symfony loss of near was shock to me when compared with the other eye so i want to know what to expect.
john56935 NoSymfony87885
Posted
Thanks for the update but I am curious if insurance covered the cost or if you or the doctor did as that could be a big factor for many.
Sue.An john56935
Posted
I suspect some surgeons would cover cost of exchange - they are not though always the best kind of doctor to do the exchange. This requires considerable more skill than implanting IOL first time. I would search for an expert in exchanges and ask about number they have done.
Ideally that conversation should happen prior to first surgery. It wad one of the questions I asked my surgeon at initial consult. He flat out said he didn't do them and I would have to really consider if I wanted to go ahead with Symfony lenses
and if I wasn't happy no one in the province where I live had that expertise - would need to go to neighboring province for that.
Guest NoSymfony87885
Posted
can you please, please contact me? i am scheduled for first exchange on wednesday, for same reasons as you, and am terrified. thank you! doretta 201/819-7499
ann39244 bill1952
Posted
Did you ever get a direct answer to your original question?
I had the Symfony lenses put in both eyes; right eye 11 weeks ago, left eye 9 weeks ago.
My post surgery vision is intolerable: huge starbursts, glare, halos, ghosting anytime of day. I will be having a lens exchange soon. I, too, have been searching for any lawsuits related to these lenses to help recover my expenses.
W-H ann39244
Posted
How are you doing? Which IOL will you exchange to if given the option? Wishing you all the best!
ann39244 bill1952
Posted
The MIOL in my right eye will be switched out in a week. The MIOL in the left eye will be done three weeks later, if everything goes well after the first surgery.
There has been no improvement with the starbursts, halos, ghosting, etc. since the first cataract surgeries so these have to come out: I experience all of these at all times of the day, dusk and evening being the worst. I will be getting monofocal lenses set for distance. The left monofocal lense will also correct astigmation in that eye. The surgeon uses Alcon lenses.I will have to wear glasses to read, which is what I would have had to wear with the MIOLs. After this experience, I would not recommend the Symfony MIOLs to anyone.
ann39244
Posted
Forgot to mention that light sensitivity has been a BIG problem with the Symfony lenses.
Guest ann39244
Posted
Hi Ann
I am so sorry you are in this situation.
A couple of days ago, I read an article written by an experienced eye surgeon.
He said that about 5 out of 1000 of his patients required a lens exchange from either Symfony or other Multifocals, because of too many negative side effects, like you are having.
But he also said, that in almost all cases when he did a lens exchange, he only needed to change the lens in the dominant eye with a monofocal, and then the negativ side effects was gone, even that the same lens was still in the fellow eye.
Based in this, maybe you should wait with the second lens exchange long enough after healing and all that, so you can see if it really is necessary to change the other one as well.
Just a thought.
Cheers
Christian
rpk0925 Guest
Posted
This is what my surgeon told me too ... that many people are content after having only one lens exchanged.
ann39244 rpk0925
Posted
My surgeon never mentioned the possibility that my problems would be diminished enough after one lense was removed. I was planning a three week interval but will consider a longer recovery period after the first eye is done.
I am a skeptic. I only get information from what I think are legitimate websites (e.g., aoa.org) yet many of the articles are written by physicians who have an interest in the manufacturer of the optical product they are reviewing. I'm guessing there are many post-surgery patients who have been told they will have to "adapt" to their less than perfect eye sight. I will post after my first surgery is done next Monday. Thank you the information.
seeherenow49806 ann39244
Posted
Yes, sounds like a good plan to wait for the 2nd eye. Less trauma and overall healing time if you can avoid the 2nd exchange. I researched the Symfony ahead of my initial cataract surgery and chose to have a monofocal in my dominant eye and the Symfony in my non-dominant eye. The visual artifacts of the Symfony lens are barely noticeable now, and were never as severe as others have mentioned. Best wishes for a perfect solution for you!
rpk0925 ann39244
Posted
Thanks Ann. You're very brave. I think you're right in being skeptical. After believing some of the things I've read on-line (including info from this forum) and having things turn out differently, I take almost everything I read in forums with a grain of salt.