Crystalens – Premium IOL in Phoenix – Southwestern Eye Center
Also Serving Patients in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa and throughout AZ
Crystalens® The first and only FDA approved accommodating IOL
The crystalens® is designed to provide good vision at all distances by moving forward and backward along the axis of the eye in response to pressure changes in the vitreous cavity and anterior chamber that result from relaxation and contraction of the ciliary muscle.
Most people's vision remains stable until their 40s. At that time, the eye's natural crystalline lens begins to gradually thicken and harden making it difficult for the muscle in the eye to automatically focus the lens. This is known as loss of accommodation, or presbyopia, and its earliest symptom is difficulty seeing things up close. Loss of accommodation is most commonly treated with reading glasses or bifocal lenses. But, as the crystalline lens continues to age, this natural lens becomes cloudy and cataracts develop. Southwestern Eye Center's Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale patients usually describe the condition as being similar to looking through a piece of wax paper, with a gradual blurring or dimming of vision.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 20.5 million people in the U.S. aged 40 and older suffer from cataracts. Cataract surgery is the most common and successful procedure performed annually in the U.S. There is no medical treatment to reverse or prevent the development of cataracts. Once they form, there is only one way to achieve clear vision again, and that is to surgically remove the natural lens from inside the eye and replace it with an intraocular lens (IOL).
Thanks to the advances in IOL technology, a new class of intraocular lens that accommodates like the eye's natural lens has received FDA approval. The Crystalens is an IOL replacement for cataracts that allows seamless focusing up close, far away, and at all distances in between, giving cataract patients their best possible vision and in most cases eliminating their need for glasses and contacts for everyday tasks…a tremendous advantage over traditional IOLs.
How it works:
The accommodating IOL is uniquely engineered with a hinge-designed to allow the optic, or part of the IOL that you see through, to move back and forth. When the muscle within the eye relaxes or constricts, it causes the optic to move backward to focus in the distance and forward to focus in the distance and forward to focus on intermediate and near images. The remaining part of the lens remains safely in place.
For nearsighted and farsighted patients who are presbyopic or show signs of cataract development, removing the crystalline lens and replacing it with an IOL can be considered.
If the thought of once again being able to continuously and automatically bring the things that matter most into clear focus, the crystalens® may be right for you.
For additional information on crystalens® click here.
Please note: The crystalens® technology may not be covered yet by insurance plans.
