Near and Distance Vision Enhancement

Scottsdale, Mesa and Phoenix, Arizona patients with cataracts can now enjoy greater freedom from eyeglasses after surgery. 

If you are a prospective Arizona cataract surgery patient who would like to see close up and far away without glasses after cataract surgery, then we can help, but you will need services beyond routine cataract surgery to achieve this result. We call these additional services Near and Distance Vision Enhancement, and there are two options available:

Blended Vision

This technique involves setting the focus of one eye for distance and the other eye for near.  With both eyes open, most patients are able to see close up and far away without any awareness of which eye is doing the majority of the work.

Most people do great with blended vision. However, patients who cannot adjust to the difference between the two eyes can simply wear eyeglasses more often or vision correction surgery can be performed to reduce or eliminate the blended vision. Though near vision is typically boosted quite nicely with this technique, it is not uncommon to occasionally need reading glasses for small print, extended reading or reading in dim light. In order to create blended vision, it is sometimes necessary to perform additional treatment for astigmatism during cataract surgery. At other times, the vision needs to be fine-tuned with laser vision correction or other procedures a few months later. Currently, our lens of choice for blended vision patients is the nanoFLEX by Staar Surgical.

Q Vision's Take: This is our preferred means of enhancing near and distance vision for most patients, because patient satisfaction is high and additional costs are low.

Presbyopic Intraocular Lenses

Presbyopic lenses are designed to help each individual eye see both near and far. As such, they allow both eyes to work together for near vision and both eyes to work together for distance vision, whereas with blended vision, one eye is doing most of the distance work, while the other eye is doing most of the near.

In general terms, presbyopic lenses allow cataract surgery patients the most freedom from eyeglasses that is currently available. Most patients are able to go without glasses for daily activities, though occasional use is sometimes necessary for visually demanding tasks.

There are several presbyopic lenses on the market, such as the Alcon Restor, AMO Technis and Bausch and Lomb Crystalens. It is common practice to mix and match lenses to best meet an individual patient's visual needs, and we have developed a sophisticated protocol to help us determine the best lenses for you.

In order to utilize presbyopic lenses, it is sometimes necessary to perform additional treatment for astigmatism during cataract surgery. At other times, the vision needs to be fine-tuned with laser vision correction or other procedures a few months later.

Q Vision's Take: For individuals who are not quite as concerned about additional costs, this technique provides the biggest boost to near and distance vision that is obtainable with today's technology. However, some patience is often required, as it can take some time to go through the process and adapt to these lenses.