Crystalens

[JJCIII]

I'm thinking of having this surgery done in the near future.  Just wondering if you'd recommend this implant lens?

Thank you,
JJCIII

[jbigdan1]

I had the Cyrstalens implanted in my left eye on the 2nd of FEB. I still have to ware glasses every thing is blurry near far and everything in between. So other words I can't see any thing whith out glasses. Just be sure that you can't see out of the eye your thinking of having removed once it's gone it's gone and you hope you have a good Doctor that knows what he is doing. Mine was a car salesman all he would say is this is the only way to go and I would thank him the day after surgery for this lens. Well I didn't thank him at all he told me it would clear up in a week I went back a week later and he said well the reson you can't see is you have a astigmatism which I am told should have been corrected at the time of surgery by other Doctors. Then he also told me that there was a piece of the old cataract still in the eye that will have to be lasered so i can see better. Ho yes and this was an EYE M.D. Good luck.

[drwalter]

I was on the fence between Crystalens and the Tecnis MONOfocal, but have now decided on monofocal, based on what my doctor told me:

"If you interested in Crystalens, I can do it for you. but you should know that
1) Crystalens work best for far and intermediate distance (about 75cm-1meter). but for small letter and near tasks it can't compare to multifocal IOL such as Restor or Acri.Lisa, That means you're likely to need glasses for small letter. (But it'll work better in computer distance compare to multifocal IOL)
2) Crystalens need more time for rehabilitation. At least first 2 week you will be instructed to use glasses for near tasks (you will prohibit to reading with out glasses because it can induce change in power of the eye in that peroid.) and optimal interval between each eye is about 1-2 weeks.
3) After 2 weeks You need to "practice" your eyes muscle to improve near vision after surgery. It will take time but will keep improve in near tasks over time.
4) Power shift can happen in this type of lens, Some patients (small amount) need second surgery to reposition of lens.
5) Night vision phenomenons are much less compare to multifocal lens but patients with multifocal lens can adapt themselves  in 2-3 months. So almost all my patients do not have problems with night driving.
6) You may need additional laser after surgery about 3 months. (it's a minor outpatient procedure)"

For me I feel the science of the lens is good, but practical application may be difficult.

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

There are literally scores of discussions in depth about the crystalens and monofocal vs multifocal. Use the search feature and archives to read about the pros and cons.

JCH MD