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What exactly do you see with Symphony IOL

Posted , 2 users are following.

al26912
al26912

Hi, thanks for everyone's help with my previous discussion.

I am 47 with cataracts in my right eye only.  Both eyes have myopia around -6D.  I read so much about the halos and starbursts at night, but I wonder what exact is being seen though the Symphony at day time.  I am debating if I should put monofocal or Symphony on the right eye.  Left eye will be contact lens until it got cataracts too.

1) For things in the center of gaze, did you see a sharp image overlapped with multiple "blurry" images?  From what I have heard your brain will learn to tune out those "blurry images" from the wrong focal distance and only recognize the sharpest image.  Is that true for far and intermediate distances at least up to say up to 2 feet?

2) Now how about the peripheral vision in day time.  Are the peripheral images distorted in any way, wrapped, multiple rings, etc?  How do you compare your peripheral vision with Symphony against a normal, non-cataract eye?

3) Now for night vision, did anyone knows if any images or video exists to show examples of what halos and starbursts vision looks like?  How far does those halo extents out from the light source?  What are starbursts? 

4) How about dim, indoor condition.  For example, in a concert hall with limited lighting (like in a piano concert, where you almost wanted to turn on the flash light from your phone to read the program).  How about in the Movie theater where the screen is bright and everything else is dark?

THank you so much.

 

1 like, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • Sue.An
    Sue.An al26912

    Posted

    Hi Al26912

    Sorry to hear you have to deal with a cataract at 47.  I was diagnosed with cataracts both eyes at 52 and have since had surgeries last summer with a Symfony lens in both eyes.

    I would encourage you to read Dr Por Yong Ming’s blog (just google all things eye Symfony) and you should find it easily enough.  He provides a very good description of this lens.  When I was trying to decide I found  that blog and his Q&A very informative.

    Daytime these lenses are great.  No issues with peripheral vision or blurriness anywhere.  Neither do I have an issue with halos or circles or starbursts with inside lighting.  When reading yes that needs good lighting.  Reading a program in a dark theatre or menu in a dimly lit restaurant will be more difficult and I have used the flashlight in that situation to read.  Symfony should give continuous vision from about 16 inches out if targeted for 0D (plano).  I got a bit fortunate there and see well from 11 inches out but that doesn’t appear to be the norm.

    Lights outside from dusk to dawn do bring halos starbursts and concentric circles.  Not for close up lights and not on all lighting.  It’s been over 4 months since my surgeries so I have seen improvement with glare and starbursts from headlights and overhead street lighting.  The concentric circles I will see likely forever as it is part of the lens design.  Perhaps brains adjust but there are people on this forum who have had this lens more than a year and still see them.  I see them when a car brakes for example and red traffic lights when these are about 50 yards away. These are multiple bands of light same colour as light source and can extend several feet beyond the car.  They are less annoying than starbursts which made driving difficult.  These circles are lighter and not as difficult for driving.  However if you do a lot of night driving you likely shouldn’t consider getting Symfony or a multifocal lens at all.

    Since you only have one eye with a cataract perhaps your best option would be a monofocal targeted for best distance.  You may not need the other eye done for 20 years if no hint of a cataract now.  That would eliminate the night time halos and likely give you a bit more contrast in dimly lit situations (I am not 100% sure on that but perhaps someone with monofocals can answer that). Likely you are wearing glasses now for reading so a Symfony or multifocal lens wouldn’t benefit you much anyways.

    These are all just my opinions.  I am not an expert.  Hopefully others will weigh in to give you other points to think about.  Wish you the best.

    • al26912
      al26912 Sue.An

      Posted

      Thank you very much Sue.An.   I will definitely read the blog you mentioned.

       

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