Astigmatism Correction
What are your options for correcting astigmatism?
If you depend upon eyeglasses, you may have experienced the inconvenience of not being able to find your glasses when you really need them. Eyeglasses are easily lost or damaged, expensive to replace, and inconvenient to clean and maintain. The more active you are, the more eyeglasses interfere with your lifestyle by complicating your participation in daily and recreational activities.Many people do not like the “look” of glasses and prefer another type of vision correction, such as contact lenses. “Toric” contact lenses designed to correct astigmatism are an option; however, some users find them uncomfortable and experience difficulty in adjusting to wearing them.
There are several surgical options your surgeon may choose to treat astigmatism, such as LASIK laser vision correction, astigmatic keratotomy (AK), or limbal relaxing incisions (LRI).
However, if you are planning to have surgery to remove a cataract, you now have an additional option... an implantable lens that makes it possible to treat the cataract and correct the corneal astigmatism at the same time. Your eye doctor will recommend the option that is best for you.
AcrySof® Toric lens: A better option for quality distance vision
Cataracts and astigmatism cloud and blur vision.
If you have astigmatism, however, you may still experience blurred and distorted vision because a standard IOL cannot correct corneal astigmatism. To achieve quality distance vision with a standard IOL, you may still require eyeglasses, contact lenses, or further surgery.
If freedom from eyeglasses for distance vision is important to you, you now have a better option. The unique design of the AcrySof® Toric lens provides significantly improved distance vision and may reduce the need for corrective lenses.
What is the AcrySof® Toric IOL?
The AcrySof® Toric lens is a foldable, singlepiece lens that an eye surgeon implants during cataract surgery to replace the clouded lens.The unique design of the AcrySof® Toric IOL makes it possible to reduce or eliminate corneal astigmatism and significantly improve uncorrected distance vision.
AcrySof® Toric lens provides QUALITY distance vision, independent of eyeglasses and contact lenses.
The AcrySof® Toric lens is made of the same biocompatible lens material already successfully implanted in more than 25 million eyes since 1991.
The traditional replacement lens implanted when a cataract is removed clears the vision, but cannot correct the astigmatism. Corrective eyewear or additional surgery are needed to reduce blurring and distortion.What would you do if you had QUALITY distance vision without the hassle of corrective eyewear?
- Travel?
- Sports?
- Enjoying the outdoors?
- Sightseeing?
- Hobbies?
- Respond more spontaneously to life’s opportunities?
What would it be like to say goodbye to both cataracts and astigmatism at the same time?
Imagine being able to:
- see at a distance without relying on eyeglasses or contact lenses
- finally enjoy quality distance vision without glasses or contact lenses
Now, revolutionary new technology makes it possible for the surgeon to perform a single outpatient procedure in which the clouded cataract lens is exchanged for an artificial lens designed to correct astigmatism as well.
You may be able to break free from eyeglasses or contact lenses for distance vision in just one step, without the need for additional surgical procedures.
How the Eye Sees and sometimes doesn’t see
The Normal Eye
When the surface of a normal eye’s cornea has a spherical curve, like the shape of a basketball, light rays passing through toward its center and focus on one spot.
Astigmatism
Sometimes, the surface of the cornea is curved more like a football, with both flatter and steeper curves. When the surface of the cornea has an uneven curvature, vision becomes distorted. This common irregularity, called a “corneal astigmatism,” causes blurred or distorted vision because light rays are not focused at one spot to provide clear vision.A person who has both a cataract and a corneal astigmatism will not regain high-quality distance vision after surgery to remove the cataract unless the astigmatism is also corrected.
