Cataract surgery with Rezoom/Restor lenses

[confused kate]

I was told by my optometrist that I've cataract. So I went to see  opthalmologists. I saw three opthalmologists. First one says my cataract has not developed fully so he can't perform surgery. Second one based on the examination and Q&A about my vision can schedule my surgery and will implant Rezoom lens in my dominant eye and Restor lens in the other eye. Third one says my cataract is not that bad but if I want surgery he can do it.He will implant Restor lens in both the eyes.  Can someone please tell me their experiences with Rezoom/Restor or Restor/Restore combinations?I am so confused. Anyone who has been in similar kind of situation, please respond to me. Optometrists comments are welcome too.
I don't think my vision is extremely bad. I can get away with it. Are there any advantages or disadvantages if I should go ahead with the surgery or wait. By the way I've slight astigmatism ,0.75 diopter, and he says it can be corrected with cataract surgery.
I would also appreciate if someone recommends opthalmologists in Central New Jersey or Middlesex County in New Jersey. I live around Old Bridge/South River/East Brunswick area.
Thank you all,
Confused Kate  

[aimee37]

I had ReStor lenses implanted in mid 2005. Initially my vision was pretty disappointing. I've had Lasik surgery twice on both eyes since then. My distance vision is good. Inetrmediate is great. I can read the smallest print without glasses in good light. I still have some ghosting (only when reading) and  find that cheap reading glasses work just fine for extended reading. I did have serious light sensitivity that took more than a year to resolve and terrible halos that are cotinuing to improve albeit very slowly. All in all I'm liking the results better as time passes and remain optimistic.

[aimee37]

Hi Kate,
At the moment I'm finding the tecnis is not as good for intermediate as the rezoom  lens but they are both slowly improving so who knows where I'll end up. I did talk to the registrar about some temporary glasses for intermediate but he suggested waiting for a couple of months if I could manage to try and get my brain working on seeing clearly at that range. As its not affecting me too badly I'm happy to do that.
will keep you posted :)

[aimee37]

Can you tell me what the difference is between a Rezoom and a Tecnis Multifocal lens? As far as I know, they are both made by the same company AMO and Rezoom is a multifocal.

[aimee37]

I'm not confused kate but... the tecnis multifocal is only available in europe at the moment as far as I know. Rezoom is refractive and tecnis is diffractive and also is aspheric. It seems to give better contrast, especially in dim light. Its also not pupil size dependent for different lighting conditions. They seem to both have their own strengths and weaknesses and I have found that to be the case.

[aimee37]

Kate, I had Restor lenses implanted last March and November. Most people believe that the same lens should be implanted in both eyes because they work better in tandem. The reports of halos, ghosts and glare that you hear are all to some degree valid, BUT in my case they are all diminishing over time. I live in East Brunswick and used the Princeton eye group. They have offices in Monroe, Somerset and Princeton. I was operated on by Drs. Lui and Wong. Both are very capable and pay extreme attention to all of the minor details. The surgery is a piece of cake. From the time I was wheeled into the operating room till I was wheeled out was under 10 minutes. There was no pain or discomfort and once the eye drops wore off, (2 days) vision was greatly improved. They operate in the Central New Jersey surgical center on RT. 1 in North Brunswick. I wore glasses from age 6 until now at 65. I only wear $1.00 readers to read in poor light. A funny result is that I still reach to take off my imaginary glasses when I go to bed at night. Oh yes one more thing, No more fogging glasses when you come indoors in the winter.
Best of luck.

[aimee37]

Kate. I had a Rezoom implanted in my dominant ( left ), eye 04/05/07. Nightmare! I know its only been 3 days, but, I'm experiencing extreme ghosting, ( shadowing around images ), severe glare while driving at night,
( large, bright star burst flares around oncoming headlights ). I'm now
dependent on new Wally World reading glasses to type this out. My surgeon had explained that there was a 2%  ( one in 50 ) chance of a complication. On operation day, patients were cued up like an assembly line. The procedure took 10 to 15 min. So I figure if the doc did 4 or 5 an hour. for 8 hours, then he could knock out 50 a day. 49 happy campers. and me. Rezoom literature warned about the possibility of halos that would probably diminish with time, but there was nada about ghosting. If my condition improves 75%, it'll still be unbearable. To my knowledge cataracts are not a threat to eye health. I lived with mine for years  ( I'm 55 ). My regular eye doc said that as long as I could tolerate them, no problem. Yours will probably worsen. but you'll know when its time to act. Remember the large majority of  Rezoom recipients are very satisfied. If you are comfortable with your vision its OK to wait. See if a regular ophthalmologist doesn't agree. ( one that doesn't have a stake in the process ). I was to have Restore done to my right, but now I'm thinking explant then mono lenses, ( I already got the reading glasses! )