What are Accommodating IOL's? (Intra-Ocular-Lenses)
Accommodating IOL's (and Dual Optic IOL's) are lenses designed to "accommodate"
or adjust, like the natural eye, to see at multiple distances. Accommodating IOL's
are mainly used in Cataract Surgery.
Their goal is to reduce or eliminate the dependence on
glasses post surgery.
Are Accommodating lenses safe in the long run?
Many eye surgeons are just not sure...yet. These lenses are VERY NEW! "New Technology
Lenses", as they are often called, are by definition new. Like with any new technology,
we at AccommodatingIOL.com recommend taking a very close look before deciding to
pursue having one implanted in your eye.
Accommodating Lens Remarks and Quotes...
"...the optical and visual performance of the current accommodative IOLs is not
ideal, and a lot of concerns remain about the long-term stability of the accommodative
properties and complications such as capsular bag contraction and posterior capsule
opacification."
Joseph Colin,MD
"There is insufficient evidence in the form of well-designed clinical trials to
support the accommodative technology of the Crystalens IOL at this time. Overall,
the concept of this accommodative IOL and others currently in clinical trials such
as Accommodative 1CU (HumanOptics, Erlangen, Germany), Smartlens™ (Medennium, Irvine,
CA), and dual optic accommodating lenses such as Sarfarazi (Bausch and Lomb, Rochester,
NY) and Synchrony (Visiogen, Inc., Irvine, CA) may in the future have potential.
Currently, these devices are unproven, and additional studies are necessary to further
evaluate long-term patient outcomes and accommodative results."
CIGNA HealthCare
"While physiological and clinical evidence supports the notion that accommodation
can be restored to the presbyopic eye, progress in this potentially exciting area
is hindered by the scarcity of good, large-scale clinical studies using objective
measurement techniques to evaluate the outcomes of accommodation restoration concepts"
Current Opinion in Ophthalmology
"The long-term refractive stability of these lenses, however, remains uncertain.
The initial results with the Crystalens in particular but also the Akkommodative
1CU IOL seem promising at 6 months. Eighteen- to 24-month data for the 1CU IOL,
however, suggest that the accommodative amplitude may fade over time"
Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today
"Accommodative lenses are relatively new, and long-term results are not yet available,
but Dr. Kanellopoulos found that the accommodative effect did not last in his patients.
Early in 2001, he implanted the 1CU IOL in about 20 cases. He found that the lens
initially had significant clinical accommodation, but that this accommodative action
regressed three to six months after the procedure. “These were clinical measurements
and do not provide solid evidence of true accommodation due to lens movement with
accommodation. Only a few patients still have accommodation" at present, he said."
EYE Net Magazine