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Cataract surgery with Rezoom/Restor lenses
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MedHelp Member's Question

Cataract surgery with Rezoom/Restor lenses

by confused kate, Apr 03, 2007 12:00AM
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  
Doctor's Answer

by Forum-OD-MP, Apr 03, 2007 12:00AM
get ready for the flood.  many, many patients here with rezoom/restor successes and failures, and many threads here on this.  in fact, this subject seems to dominate these boards.

there are lots of advantages and disadvantages to waiting vs having the surgery now.  take some of the 'horror' stories that are about to be posted here with a grain of salt...this is where patients who are UNhappy with the procedure usually come to get more information/support.  so IMO the opinions here on multifocal implants are a little skewed towards the negative.  in the end you and your docs will have to decide whats right for you.

good luck
Member Comments (23)

by aimee37, Apr 04, 2007 12:00AM
To: O. D. RMP
Thank you for responding..Can you tell me the advantages/disadvantages of having cataract surgery now v. waiting for a while.
Could you recommend opthalmologists in New Jersey? Mainly in Middlesex county.

by aimee37, Apr 04, 2007 12:00AM
Here is a website as to when to seek treatment:

http://www.eyesurgeryeducation.com/Cataract_Seek_Treatment.html

You need to carefully consider whether the procedure is going to solve problems you are having or possibly just create new problems you don't need yet. This forum does have a high representation of patients who have had eye issues, so as Dr. Prince says, a grain of salt does apply when reading here, but the threads do contain a wealth of information as to what others have experienced.  

I would ask doctors and nurses in your locality who they would recommend for cataract surgery or consult http://www.castleconnolly.com/ for a referral.












by aimee37, Apr 04, 2007 12:00AM
To: confused kate
Hi Kate, thought I'd chip in with my experience - not sure how helpful it will be.
I was diagnosed with psc cataracts last year - I'm 35. Was pretty myopic before (off top of my head left eye -6.5, cyl 1.5 right eye -7.5 cyl .75) I'm in the UK. Was referred up to hospital where surgeon recommended surgery. At that point my corrected vision was 6/12 but noticably worsening and I was starting to struggle to see in poor light.

Surgeon recommended rezoom in left eye and tecnis multifocal in right eye. I feel very privileged to be offered these lenses on the nhs.

I'm four weeks post op on the rezoom lens and 2 weeks post op on the tecnis lens. In good light my distance is excellent 6/5 or better depending on lighting. Outside vision in daylight is stunning. Also I can read the smallest writing on the page of writing I was given to read. (not sure how that would be designated it said 67% next to the paragraph) That is easier with my tecnis eye.

The downsides at the moment is my intermediate vision isnt great. Rezoom is not bad, can comfortably read the computer with it now, tecnis is not as good but improving. Twilight/night vision is quite poor with the rezoom, tecnis has much more contrast. There is definitely some adapting to do at the moment. Under these conditions I notice a lag between when I look at things and when they come into focus. The registrar said that is my brain learning which image to concentrate on.

The other downside are halos and also on the telly some ghosting of bright images. In general they don't bother me but carlights are a bit overwhelming at the moment.

It is very early days for me yet. I am hopeful that the downsides will improve loads, already things that were difficult are becoming easier. I definitely under most circumstances have much better vision than I did with the cataracts and personally feel things are going very well.

by aimee37, Apr 04, 2007 12:00AM
To: jmadison
Thanks for the websites. I sure will visit them.

by aimee37, Apr 04, 2007 12:00AM
To: madcatwoman
Good news is that you've excellent near vision. I think it's too early in the game to know what kind of vision you'll have down the road. It looks like you are doing good. Does tecnis multifocal help with intermediate vision? Wish you all the best. Please keep me posted as to how your vision is progressing.
Good Luck,
Confused Kate

by aimee37, Apr 05, 2007 12:00AM
To: Confused Kate
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.

by aimee37, Apr 05, 2007 12:00AM
To: confused kate
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 :)

by aimee37, Apr 05, 2007 12:00AM
To: confused kate
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.

by aimee37, Apr 05, 2007 12:00AM
To: Occupant
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.

by aimee37, Apr 07, 2007 12:00AM
To: CONFUSED kATE
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.

by aimee37, Apr 08, 2007 12:00AM
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