Trying to decide on multifocal or monovision IOLs

I went thru the same thing just recently and I picked mini-monovision monofocal over Symfony. I'm quite happy with my results, mostly based on cost and the desire to be safe from possible complications. I do have to wear glasses which I don't mind.

Good luck whatever you choose.

Getting a Symfony lens and having monovision are not two exclusive options.

I have a Symfony lens set for the best focus for far distance and a monofocal lens set for best focus at about 17 inches. My day vision is good at all distances from about 15 inches to far away. However, I wish that I had better night vision due to the annoying multiple concentric circles which I see around lights at night.

If you would rather not wear glasses at all, I would suggest getting a monofocal lens set for far distance in the dominant eye and a Symfony lens set for the best focus at about 40 inches (corresponding to about -1.0D). That combination should give reasonably good vision down to about 16-18 inches and with hopefully less night vision issues than my combination.

If you don't mind using glasses for reading and would rather not take any chances on seeing the multiple circles around lights at night, then getting 2 monofocal lenses with slight monovision (one plano and the other at -1.0D) will also be a very good choice.

Hello Susan, you might want to consider getting a second opinion, perhaps from a retinal specialist, to help you decide. What your ophthalmologist told you is somewhat surprising to me, as I'm faced with the same problem...my mother had AMD, though she developed it in her early sixties, and I'm now 66 with no sign of it.  I consulted a retinal specialist and two ophthalmologists, and mentioned that my mother had AMD, yet none of them said anything about me not choosing Symfony lenses because of it.  (The only reason I'd gone to the retinal doc for a consult actually had do with my having had a retinal tear in one eye many decades ago, and I was--and still am--worried about having cataract surgery because it raises your risk of future retinal tears/detachments a bit for everybody, and I'm already at higher risk for another tear due to already having had one.)   Like you, I had just about decided on a Symfony lens too, but your comment makes me wonder if that really would be best.  Honestly, I always thought my mother's heavy smoking was what had probably caused her AMD, as no one else in the family had/has it that I know of. and smoking can be one of the causes.  

I can relate to your indecision - it isn’t an easy choice.  I have 2 Symfony lenses and am happy with them.  I seem to recall reading something about what your opthamologist said concernig macular degeneration and multifocal IOLs.   But technically the Symfony isn’t a multifocal although most people refer to them as that.  But they are in a class by themselves as EDOF (extended depth of focus).   You might want to check with the Opthamologist to see if that changes anything.

I went through that same decision process.  I'm going to start with a mono-focal set for distance in my cataract affected left eye, and then think about what I want in my other eye as it gets cataract over time.  At the moment, I'm okay for near vision in my right eye.   I just think mono-focals are a more conservative option.  That isn't to say that people don't have great results with the Symfony though too.  I guess it's just a matter of preference. 

G

my dr is contimplating swithching out my symfony toric for monofocal his reasoning is he never had a case where symfony lens had problems especially clarity in intermediate vision which is very fuzzy by me and feels cloudy even when i put on 1.5+ to read. Does any one out there had this problem with symfony toric in intermediate that u need gladses for intermediate also does the vision appear cloudy like a wrapper was left on the iol.

thx orshulim

ps he claims does 50 catarcts aweek total all diff kinds