AcrySof Toric

In November, 2006, I had a Restor lens placed in my left eye after cataract surgery.  My intermediate and near vision is worse than before surgery and it took two Lasik surgeries to get my distance vision down to 20/30. I am now with a different surgeon and scheduled to have my right eye done in March.  Because I have some astigmatism, the new surgeon has suggested the AcrySof Toric lens saying it should correct the astigmatism and improve my distance vision which is now 20/200 in my right eye.  I am very skeptical having gone through so much with the Restor lens and wonder if it would be better to have the limbal relaxing incisions for the astigmatism and just have a standard IOL implanted.  I can now read print with my right eye (not the Restor eye) and this new doctor says my close vision will probably not be as good after the surgery.  What do you think?

[JodieJ]

I'm sorry to read about your problems with ReStor.  I'm not an eye care professional, but I did research this question before my own surgery.  I learned that limbal relaxing incisions eliminate on average about 50% of existing astigmatism, sometimes more and sometimes less.  The toric IOL did a somewhat better job of reducing astigmatism, at least in the clinical trials.  How much astigmatism do you have?  Does it closely match the anticipated reduction of one of the toric IOL powers?  How many toric IOLs has your surgeon implanted, and what were the results?  Is s/he proficient at doing LRIs?  (Not all cataract surgeons are!)  Why does s/he feel that a toric IOL would work better for you than LRIs?  I think the answers to these questions would help with your decision-making.  Best wishes.

[Laura4]

Kay, you can read about my experience with a Toric SN60T3 implanted in my left eye.  The positive is that my daytime distance acuity is great, but it was good - not great - before the surgery.  I had 1.25 D x 108 degree astigmatism.  Because Toric is monofocul my near acuity is not as good as before but I did not mind having to continue to use reading glasses.  My Toric has a cylinder power of 1.50 D.  If you know the model of the toric you can find out the power.  I think that's what Jodie is asking.  Keep asking your new surgeon all of these questions.  Don't be afraid to say something like "I've heard positive reports about the technis aspheric IOL".  He needs to know your concerns, and you need to feel he's listening.  

Is it possible to correct astigmatism with Lasik?

Laura

[JodieJ]

Yes, Lasik (or PRK) is supposed to be the most reliable way to correct astigmatism.  However, it cannot be done at the time of cataract surgery, and it carries an additional out-of-pocket fee.  On the other hand, limbal relasing incisions can be done at the time of cataract surgery, and many surgeons do not charge for this additional procedure.