Symfony Lens issues

Hi grouper150 - I have Symfony Lenses in both eyes and vision is great.  Can see clearly from 11 inches out.  Surgeries were 6 weeks apart due to cataracts.  I am almost 5 months from surgeries.  Had my optometrist check my eyes about 4 or 5 weeks ago now.  Results achieved are plano in both eyes and I can read J1 on snellen chart at 14 inches - however would not want to read a novel with that tiny print.  But novels iPhone newspaper and magazine print is all good.  I have minimal astigmatism after the surgeries: .50 in one and .25 in the other.

Just so you know I came on these forums looking for info after I was diagnosed with cataracts and knew I needed surgery.  I didn’t see many good stories posted about the Symfony lenses.  I waffled back and forth with choosing this lens and was very worried as this lens has only been available in my province since Dec 2016.  I was able to speak to a patient of my surgeon (he didn’t refer me to her - she was a friend of a work colleague that put us in touch and it was then I learned my surgeon operated on her eyes).

I think most of the posters come on forums when something goes wrong - very few come looking for prior info.  So the balance of opinions you’ll see is that Symfony lenses are not great.

That being said all premium lenses have a compromise.  Symfony lenses do have an unusual nighttime halo of multiple concentric rings around light sources.  I see those when driving at night around some light sources.  This is not a lens I would choose if I had to drive a lot at night or was a pilot.  Daytime though is really good.  I have not worn glasses since my surgeries.  The glare and starbursts at night were very uncomfortable to drive with for about 6 weeks but those have subsided to the point driving is not a big worry now.  I live in a province where it is dark when I drive to work and coming home.

Have you had follow up visits with your surgeon?  What does he or she have to say about your results?  Have you been back to your optometrist to get an exact prescription.  There may be some underlying cause (astigmatism) or the lens power for that eye was miscalculated that is to account for the blurriness.

I do hope you find the reasons for this result.  If all else fails you can consult with a specialist to see if you can have the lens exchanged.  I am no expert - I read usually you can do that within 6 months but perhaps they can still do that after 10 months.

Best of luck to you.

Hi Grouper15

very sorry to hear about your vision. 

I was sold symfony lenses in both eyes.  I have terrible side effects of halos, starbursts and concentric circles.  I am almost 5 months post surgery.  Saw a retina specialist who strongly recommends I leave them.  Saw my surgeon yesterday and he is looking into further information as at this point has no other options other than YAG (he does not want to do that procedure), drops to make pupil smaller at night (also comes with risk of pain and headaches), and lastly lense replacement.   

At at this point I think I will have to live with all these vision impairments because I’m scared to risk any further treatment.  

Has your surgeon been able to explain why your vision is so poor?

i know your depression as I am experiencing the same.  I hope with time you see improvement!

On the surface, the symptoms you describe (blurred vision, not being able to see beyond 30 inches etc) seem to have nothing to do with the type of lens you have in that eye (Symfony in your case).

Either the lens power is way off or there is some other vision issue caused by the cataract surgery.

What is your prescription for that eye and what is your best corrected vision in that eye (with glasses)? Is the best corrected vision is bad, sas the doctor examined your eye to make sure that there is no PCO or retina damage etc?

Continuing my post above,

The bottom line is while Symfony lens does have many associated night time vision issues, the issue you describe does not seem to be related to the type of lens. You (with the help of more than one ophthalmologist, if needed) needs to know the exact reason for your bad vision before thinking seriously of lens replacement.

Absolutely agree with at201. 

I am no fan of Symfony but it’s not THAT bad.  You either have a high degree of PCO or some other surgical complication assuming your eye was healthy prior to the surgery. 

Was it Symfony toric for astigmatism?