ReStor IOL Lens Positive Results

Hi. I am a 67 year old female. I had cataract surgery on right eye Friday, June 12, 2009. I am three days after cataract surgery and a ReStor replacement lens. I have experienced an excellent result. I could see distance with ReStor lens very well that same evening, but because of pupil dilation I could not read. Saturday morning I could read the computer with the new lens and later that afternoon I could read the numbers on the TV remote control. Sunday, my husband asked how I was doing. I picked up a lip gloss tube from the table, covered the non surgery eye and read it to him. I am well pleased. I will see the surgeon tomorrow and will post my followup information here.

I will post here in hopes that others seeking information on the multifocal lens will find a bit more positive results to base their decision on. Before my surgery I searched the internet to help with my decision and I found very few people posting a good result from a multifocal IOL. After 6 weeks of reading bad results on here and other sites, I made the decision to have the ReStor. I have always enjoyed good eye site with a bit of help from glasses for distance and a trial period wearing one contact when driving. There is a cateract on my left eye also, so another decision will be in my near future. I can't yet say what lens I will decide to get, but as of today I am elated with the results in my right eye.

It is the nature of man to complain and seek help when problems arise and answers are few. When things go well we just seem to accept them and go on with our life. Today I have given my testimony of a good result. Me

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[OldNavy966]

Glad to hear of your positive outcome.  I too am thinking about a Restor lens.  Have you experienced much glare or halos?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[ace399]

I too can claim good results with the newest Restor lenses in both eyes.

My three surgeries started with a Crystalens HD in my right eye.  Since it was not accommodating, my Dr. recommended the newest Restor in my left eye (~April 2009).  After getting a 2nd opinion, I agreed.  Then after a few weeks, my CL HD shifted myopic!  My Dr. thinks that a very slight tightening of the capsule can cause sufficient shift of the CL HD to myopic.  I then worked with my Dr. to replace the CL HD with a Restor and I'm really glad.

I do not get any flares (spider webs) with the Restor like I was getting with the Crystalens HD.  Also, the Restor is more physically stable than the CL HD, so it will not shift.

The negatives are minor and include halos sometimes around distant pin point bright lights at night and glare in bright sunny light (I need sunglasses).  I have a feeling my eyes are sensitive and would probably experience the glare even with monofocals (I also experienced glare with the CL HD).

The pluses are numerous and include:  no eye glasses for distance, intermediate or reading (in good lighting).  I use reading glasses for reading in dim light (like menus).

I have a feeling that the newest Restor lenses are a big improvement over the older model and had I not gone through the process that I did, I would not have had the newest improved Restor lenses.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[meeek]

Hi. I saw eye doctor today and everything looks good. I asked and doctor and he said my vision is 20  20-. I can read the next to bottom line of a hand held chart and read some of the last line. I did notice that moving or tilting the chart a bit one way or another allowed me to see my best. I opted not to schedule the other left eye surgery until I notice a "need" to do so. I have a ReStor 3.0 with UV blue light filter. It seems to cause everything to be much brighter, but I have noticed no halos or ghosting and no light flashes. Husband and I went for a long drive in country on a sunny day and I am amazed at the clarity of my vision. After reading comments on here and other sites. I assumed I would need sunglasses for glare etc. I bought 3 pair inexpensive sunglasses, not knowing which would be best.I tried each of them and found I have no need for any, yet. I am so glad for all who have a good result. Some of us must be test subjects or nothing new would ever get to market. Doctors are always learning. I also have an ICD Biventricular Pacemaker, and am in 3rd yr of 5yr clinical trial. Also 3yr  Coreg drug trial. then in February I had a total hip replacement. The decision to do each of them was heartrendering, with much wavering back and forth, but after much research I decided to go for it and leave the rest in Gods hands. Excellent results so far on all. In the end each one of us must decide how much of the unknown we can live with.
Me

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[ace399]

What I have learned in reading the posts in this Forum is that each person is so physically different from the next.  So, we have to rely on our doctors to help us make the right choice of IOL.  The problem is that the doctor doesn't always spend the time to review with the patient all of the potential downsides of each IOL to insure that the proper lens is selected.  If I had known that the Crystalens had the potential to shift myopic, I would never have chosen it.  For those out there who are interested in switching from Crystalens to Restor, it is a fairly easy procedure for a skilled surgeon.  The Dr. clips the lens, cuts it and removes it.  The haptics remain.

My Dr. uses Crystalens and Restor and he said that Restor is gaining in market share.  There are some doctors in my area (Philadelphia suburbs) who will only use Restor.  Perhaps the new Restor is significantly improved over the older model.

[meeek]

A little over 3 months ago 6/12/09 I had cataract surgery and a multifocal ReStore IOL 3.0 UV replacement in right eye. I am still very pleased with the Restore lens. There are some issues, but nothing I will call a problem. All are in comparison to pre cataract vision and all are 'easily' managed in my daily life.
1, Vision clarity is not the same every day
2. Need much more light to read
3. Slower to focus
4. Glare from headlights and sun
5. Ghosting or shadows around letters
6. Some flickering and shadowing upper right peripheral

I am now ready to have the cateract on my left eye removed and a ReStore IOL replacement. At my last appt. with my eye surgeon, he stated that there is no standard 'best time' to have the cataract in other eye removed and lens replaced. He left the decision up to me, as to when I thought I needed it done. 1st appt. Oct. 6, 2009

[meeek]

Sorry for mispelling of ReStor in previous post.
7. Objects appear to be farther away (slightly smaller) with ReStor compared to my   other eye. Me

[yarrow]

How nice to learn of a quite good outcome, and thank you for posting!  It's natural but kind of ironic that a forum such as this one will almost certainly have more unhappy posts than happy ones about any procedure.  After all, those with good outcomes don't generally look for advice on the internet, since they are content with their results.  It's somewhat unfortunate for those seeking advice, though, since the negative posts may be disproportionate to real-life results in the general population.